The Last King
by Alyssa Malgray
Summary: When Sarah's link to the Labyrinth is broken and her best friend Hoggle is in danger, she is left with no choice but to call on Jareth and return to the Labyrinth once more. What she finds is a bored and lonely King, an unexpected revelation concerning the Labyrinth and all its creatures - and an impossible choice. J/S, of course.
1. The Arrest

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth or Jareth or any other of Jim Henson's characters, but am eternally grateful for his vivid imagination._

Sarah awoke on the floor, her body stiff and sore, and the room around her was dim and unlit. Her mind felt foggy and slow, even more than usual, and she slowly pushed raise herself up on her arms, so she could sit up and look around. Her dark hair was tangled and hung limply across her forehead, and she weakly brushed it aside. She was in her own room and it must be late night, as the house was quiet and no light shone in the hallway behind the half-closed door. The television downstairs was off and only the ticking of the grandfather clock below was barely audible. Sarah shuddered as she suddenly felt chilled to the bone in the dark and cold room. She was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and some white leggings and the window was slightly ajar, allowing the frigid night breeze to drop the temperature to far below normal.

Why was she here and not in bed, she thought tiredly and dragged herself to her feet - every movement causing sharp pains to flash through her head. Her throat was dry and she coughed, wincing at the pain, and reached for the glass of water she always kept near her bed, grateful for the minimal relief even though the water tasted warm and stale. It helped clear her mind, and she began remembering as she rested against the bedpost, breathing raggedly. As her eyes fell on the mirror at the dressing table, or rather the remains of the mirror - a sudden rush of anger and pain made her drop the glass, the remaining water splashing her feet, as everything came back to her with blinding clarity.

She had had one of those days where she was feeling too poorly to go school, so Hoggle had been with her most of the afternoon, playing board games with her, as she rested on the bed. He came often, lately, through the mirror of her dressing table, where she could call him anytime she needed it. Kalaha and Monopoly was their favorite games, ever since they had stopped playing chess months ago because she couldn't focus for long enough anymore. They had a quiet reassuring friendship with mutual joy in the companionship, and as the twilight approached last night, Hoggle had hugged her goodbye and warned her with his sad concerned eyes to take it easy and get some more rest. He was so protective of her lately. She hugged him back and then… the goblins had suddenly been there. Six of them, clad all in black, with narrowed eyes and stern faces, five of them brandishing mismatched weapons and the last one holding a yellowed wrinkled scroll with a blood red seal at the bottom.

"Guardian Hoggle," he intoned formally, as Hoggle took a step back towards the bed, his gaze flickering nervously around. "Guardian Hoggle, by the order of His Majesty the Goblin King, you are hereby under arrest for treason and conspiracy against the crown."

"What?" Hoggle's eyes darted back and forth at the goblins and he crossed his arms protectively in front of him. "No, that's not true – I haven't done anything!"

"Seize him!" the goblin leader snarled and the other goblins had swarmed clumsily at Hoggle, but quickly overpowered him.

Sarah had jumped out of the bed, she remembered, and screamed for them to stop it, but to no avail – Hoggle was tied up with black ropes and dragged towards the leader, and in a blinding flash they were all gone, except him. He looked coolly at her with his yellow eyes and then with another flash and a sound of shattering glass, he too had disappeared. Sarah had taken a step toward the mirror, she used to call for Hoggle with, but only the empty frame looked back at her – splinters of glass were scattered everywhere on the table. And then she must have fallen and fainted.

"Oh, Hoggle, what happened?" But even as she whispered this, Sarah could feel the answer - Jareth must have discovered he still visited her and taken offense, she thought, she could see no other reason for him to send his goblins after Hoggle – especially not here. She slowly began to realize the full extent of her situation, and she sank to her knees with tears burning behind her eyes, threatening to start falling. Hoggle was gone to an uncertain fate at the mercy of the Goblin King. And the mirror was broken - her last link to the Underground had been lost. She curled up motionless and consumed by shock for a while, until the initial grief was replaced by fear, and then finally and much later – anger.

"How could you, Jareth," she hissed to the darkness, and with a sudden resolution, she got up and went to her closet, careful not to step on the mirror shards with her bare feet. She found a loose woolen gown that she pulled over her clothes and a rubber band to tie back her hair, as well as a pair of cotton sneakers. Properly dressed, she approached the dressing table and opened the top drawer in order to retrieve a slightly mussed envelope from furthest back, which had been carefully hidden under pencils, puzzle books and various art supplies. It had been there for well over a year, she realized, just waiting for a day like this – waiting for her to finally give up. Unfolding it, she re-read it one last time:

"_Dear Dad, I'm going away to live with a friend. Don't worry about me, everything will be fine. I love you – tell Toby I love him, too. Yours, Sarah._"

Yes, that would have to do, she thought and put it back in the envelope before placing it on the top of the dressing table– though the first part was a lie, the second part was at least all too true. She would really miss Toby. He was now four years old and had no memory of the adventures in the Labyrinth, but they still had a special bond and she often took care of him and played with him during the afternoons or evenings, when Karen was busy. How would he react when morning came, and she wasn't there, she thought? How long would it take for him to forget her? She had wanted to write a letter to him as well explaining everything – but there was nothing she could write that he would ever believe. She would have to trust her father to handle the situation, and they would never know the real truth. Maybe it was better that way.

Thinking of Toby reminded her of the other preparations she had made, and with an effort she pulled a chair next to her closet and climbed up to retrieve a faded green backpack from its usual place on the far back of the closet top. It was not heavy and contained only a few items – some apples, dried fruit and her old red copy of "The Labyrinth", but it could not be left here where Toby might find it by accident.

The clock chimed below – one o'clock and Sarah sighed – there was no way to postpone it anymore and the sooner she went the better chance of helping Hoggle. Gathering all her courage and still fuelled by her anger, she stepped off the chair, but immediately had to use it for support, the room spinning and her eyesight blurring. She groaned, never truly used to these dizzy spells her low blood sugar caused, even though it had been part of her reality for these past three years. But maybe not for so much longer – at least this reminded her, why she had to carry through with this. When her eyesight cleared, she let go slowly, steadying herself on the closet, and when she was sure she was alright again, she went to the large windows, which still stood slightly ajar.

"Are you there, Jareth?" she whispered into the night. "What will you do, I wonder? Did you plan this from the start?" There was no reply, only the soft howling of the wind in the trees.

Sarah straightened her hair and lifted arms in a wide dramatic gesture. If she had to do it, she might as well do it right.

"I wish…" she shouted into the darkness in a voice meant to be strong, but cracking slightly, "I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away right now!" A silent rumble of thunder answered her and a sudden gush of icy wind whipped around her, making her take a step back. She searched the sky for signs of him, waiting apprehensively for the sight of a familiar white owl, but seconds passed, turning into minutes and nothing happened, except for the cold seeping through her dress and making her shiver again. As hesitantly as she has been calling him, the thought of him NOT coming suddenly filled her with panic. He had to come. He was the last option, both for her and Hoggle. She backed into the room as in a daze, eyes still fixed on the night sky, and suddenly bumped into something hard. As a faint smell of spices and leather crept around her, she heard a very familiar voice whispering in her ear…

"My my, I thought it sounded like you, Sarah."


	2. Fairy Food

His hot breath on her cheek made her jump, and half scared, half relieved that he had come, Sarah turned to face the Goblin King. He was dressed completely in black leather, just like last time, and looked just as she remembered. Tall, haughty with white blond unruly hair and mismatched eyes, that met hers in an amused glance. But his presence in her room was overwhelming and she realized she had forgotten how intimidating he could really be.

"I can't believe it," the Goblin King continued smugly and walked around her, letting his eyes glide up and down her body. "What has it been – two years? Three years? Did you finally miss me so much, you had to see me again?"

"I think you know why I called you, don't you?" Sarah tried to keep her voice steady. "Why did you arrest him?"

"Arrest who?" Jareth's voice was calm and even. "Oh, your little friend, Higgle?"

"It's HOGGLE," she spat and felt her anger return. "He hadn't done anything, you know that!"

"I tend to disagree," he replied and frowned at her. "You don't look well, Sarah. I know mortal women fancy being thin, but this is definitely too much, what have you done to yourself?"

Sarah looked at him in disbelief. "What have _I_ done? You mean, what have YOU done? You know why you gave me that peach!"

He nodded, conjuring a crystal, which he placed in the air, leaving it hanging without any visible means of support, and inside it, she could see a ballroom and dancers.

"Yes, the peach let you surrender to your dreams. You chose to shatter those dreams. That's all there was to it – why do you bring that up now? Did you regret it and starved yourself while longing after me?" he mocked with a grin, and Sarah realised with a sinking feeling that he might not even have known what he had done to her – how he had ruined her life afterwards. She looked away from the crystal and met his gaze, willing herself to remain calm.

"I am a mortal and I ate fairy food. You gave me fairy food." Only one other person knew her story and it was almost a relief to be able to put it into words again. "I can no longer eat the food of this world, only food from the Underground."

The Goblin King was silent for a moment, and then he raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Are you telling me, you haven't eaten in three years, Sarah? Even I know that is not possible for humans!"

She sighed impatiently. "No, of course I've eaten. For the last three years, Hoggle… remember? …have smuggled food up from the Underground for me. I have been eating in secret in my room, all kinds of fairy food, sometimes getting enough, other times having to stretch the supply for days, when you sent him away on errands. But since my return from the Underground, that is all I have been able to eat."

She thought back to the very first morning after the journey to the Underground. She had tried to get breakfast from the fridge, but everything tasted spoiled and horrible, even though it looked good. The only thing she could keep down was plain tap water, everything with the least bit of flavour was sickening. She had gone to school, deciding to eat there instead, but it was the same – even food that her class mates ate with pleasure, tasted foul and she had been really confused and worried. Her stepmother had been furious with her at dinner for wasting good food – they had ordered pizzas, and even that favourite food had smelled and tasted all wrong, so Sarah had not been able to eat anything, although she was absolutely famished by then.

The second day went the same, and by night she was so faint she almost couldn't get up the stairs to her bedroom. She had called for Hoggle via the mirror and he had come instantly, very worried at her pale drawn face and dull eyes. She explained the situation, and though neither of them thought it would help, he pulled out an apple from his backpack and offered it to her. Never had anything tasted so good, and she had eaten even the core just to get something in her stomach. Hoggle had gone back for more, and after she had finally finished eating, they had discussed the situation in earnest, Sarah resting on her bed and Hoggle on the floor beside her. They came to the only conclusion they could, drawing on old folklore and mythology: Having eaten in the Underground, even a single bite, Sarah belonged to the Underground and could not return in full.

For three years now, she had tried at least once a week to eat human food, but to no avail. Only the things Hoggle brought her from below did her system tolerate, and even though he came as often as he could, the food from the underground spoiled very quickly in the Above and except for a few things like fruit could not be stored, so Sarah had had very little to eat in that time. She had lost a lot of weight, even so much that people had frowned upon it and commented on whether she was anorectic, but by bringing Underground food down from her room and eating in front of other people, she managed to avoid her father's suggestion of going to a doctor. Her biggest nightmare was that Toby would find her stock and eat something, so he got inflicted, too, so she kept it in the backpack on her top shelf, well hidden away from being detected by anyone.

"But now Hoggle is arrested," she continued and gestured towards the broken vanity table. "Not only is he innocent, but unless you release him, I will starve to death. That is why I called you, Jareth."

The Goblin King stood quite still, contemplating the situation, while he took back the crystal from the air and twirled it between his fingers. His expression was unreadable, and Sarah wondered what he was thinking and what he would do.

"I didn't know," he said finally, his voice carefully neutral. "When I gave you the peach… I didn't know this would happen. So now the dwarf can help you no longer, and it looks like even what he did was not enough. You are really thin – he can't have fed you enough anyway."

"Yes," Sarah said, equally calm, desperately trying to hide from him how nervous and afraid she was. What if he wouldn't release Hoggle? "I… please help me, Jareth. You are my last resort, my only hope."

"I think," he said after a pause, "that you have finally managed to render me speechless, my dear Sarah. I shall have to think about this and what we can do, but this is neither the time nor the place to discuss it. You wished yourself away to me, and I will be generous and take you. Come." He smirked and held out a gloved hand towards her.

"But… can't you just release Hoggle?" Sarah stammered and took a step back. "We can go on as before – he will bring me food…"

"Sarah, what is said is said – you know that," he scolded her gently, "and you said the words. Even though you just meant to call me here to save Hoggle, you belong to me now."

Sarah paled and took another step backwards, but at the same time she knew he was right. And she _had_ used those words, because she had wanted to be sure he would come. So trembling, she took a deep breath and nodded. He crossed the distance between them and placed his hand on her shoulder and then her room disappeared and she knew they were going back – back to the Underground.


	3. Back in the Castle

The large room had a high ceiling and sandstone walls, and one end had a tall broad window made out of narrow panes of what seemed to be stained glass like in a church, though Sarah couldn't see the colours clearly as it was dark outside. Torches on the walls and a large fireplace made the room seem warm and inviting and it was clearly a bedroom, dominated by a large oaken double bed, complete with curtains and a red bedspread. There were two doors leading away and Jareth let go of her and gestured towards them.

"The wash room is that way, the other one leads into the castle. Don't go out there tonight – no one knows you are here, and it might not be safe for you. I'll have the goblins bring you something to eat from the kitchen – you look like you really need it."

Sarah had been frowning at the mentioning of dangers in the castle, but the thought of food made her realise how faint she felt.

"Thank you," she said, but then remembered something even more urgent"… what about Hoggle? What have you done with him? Can I see him… please?"

The Goblin King narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I'll think about it. First, you need food and sleep, and then we can talk. I'll have someone bring you to me tomorrow."

Sarah wanted to protest and argue, but she had promised herself ever since she took the decision to call him, that she would not be disrespectful, not displease him – who knew what he would do to her or Hoggle, if he got angry.

"Yes, …Your Majesty," she whispered and he raised an eyebrow and grinned at her.

"Sarah, I'm not going to hurt you, there's no need to sweet-talk me." His voice grew deeper and more velvety as he continued: "To you, I'm just Jareth – for now…"

His eyes caught hers as he raised his hand and slowly traced her cheek from her ear to the tip of her chin, and his fingers felt unnaturally warm, almost burning her where he touched. She stood perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe, but then he sighed and turned away.

"Good night, Sarah." His black cape curled around him, as he turned to leave, and she stood perfectly still until he closed the door behind him. Then she felt the tears coming, and slowly sinking to the floor, she broke down in tears, sobbing quietly and releasing all the tension she had been building up the past hours.

Every day since she ran the Labyrinth, she had known deep inside she would one day return, because the situation with her dependency on Hoggle was just not going to last forever. She had not thought it would end as abruptly as the arrest had been, but it had of course been lurking in the back of her mind all the time. That was the reason for the backpack that was already packed and the letter to her father written well in advance.

Her condition and frequent contact with Hoggle had ensured that she never even tried to put the Labyrinth behind her and constantly lived a double-life – in High School a normal teenager, alone in her room a prisoner living from day to day and hording food in the closet, never knowing whether Hoggle would be able to come that day or not. As the weeks and months passed, she realized the limitations this placed on her – meals and snacks were such an important part of most social activities – dates, going out for pizza, birthday parties, Thanksgiving, and now she was unable to join in. She hadn't really had any close friends before going to the Underground, but now that she had to make excuses all the time, she drifted even further away from her classmates. She began spending most of her time in her room, chatting on the internet, where she found lots of useful tips from anorectic girls on how to pretend to eat without actually eating. Using those tips, she managed to stay one step ahead of her father and Karen, so she could hide the truth from them and avoid causing worry. She also read a lot, wrote small stories and drew pictures of the creatures, she had met in the Labyrinth – goblins, her friends, and most of all, the Goblin King.

Slowly she had realised that this would impact her entire future. She couldn't go away to college, once she graduated, for that would mean she would have to leave the room and the mirror – it was unlikely she could have this set-up in a common dorm or have the privacy to actually call for Hoggle. She couldn't go on long vacations, since she had to bring all the food with her. Even the trips to her mother were kept to weekends only, although her mother had been truly hurt the first time she cancelled their usual long summer vacation. She had no idea of what to do with herself after graduation, but being used to taking one day at a time, she had pushed the decision ahead of her, and maybe something would turn up. And now something had.

She had had plenty of time to think about the Goblin King. The more Hoggle told her about him, the more of a mystery he became to her. Hoggle had known and served him as a Labyrinth guardian for decades, and in all that time, he had never seen him with another one of his kind, only with the Goblins, human Questers walking the Labyrinth or other guardians like Hoggle of various races. Jareth had never talked to anyone about himself or his past, and although the goblins might know some more of his secrets, they never said anything useful, being unable to have a decent conversation with anyone due to their short attention span and childlike minds.

The Labyrinth, Hoggle described as huge – far larger than she had imagined or seen when she was there. There were all kinds of mazes in it – some relatively harmless like the ones she had been in, and others more dangerous where you could get truly hurt, if you weren't careful. Vast deep lakes with rafts stretching across it as pathways. Stone mazes with secret trapdoors where you could get lost forever. Places with dangerous intelligent guardians like minotaurs, giant serpents, spiders and gremlins, who would maim or even kill an intruder. He said some of these were never used for Questers – the humans walking the Labyrinth trying to get a wished-away child back - but were only there for enemies trying to get close to the City beyond the Goblin City. Others were actually used for Questers, but only the ones that Jareth seemed to have taken a particular disliking to.

Hoggle had still been afraid of Jareth, like most of the other guardians in the Labyrinth, because he had seen the power the King could wield when he was angry. The Bog of Eternal Stench was just the threat he used casually against the guardians, but he had never actually thrown anyone into the bog – only the surrounding area like he did with Ludo, Hoggle and Sarah. The guardians hated being transported there, because it took so long to get back to their own part of the Labyrinth, but they were not physically harmed by it – as long as they were careful not to touch the water. But when Jareth got angry at a Quester, it was a terrible sight and Hoggle would only recount the barest of details to her, looking pale and frightened and quickly changing the subject. The small goblin army was just a prop used for questers, more of a joke than anything else, being hopelessly disorganized and ill-equipped. The ones arresting Hoggle seemed to have been some of the smarter ones, she mused.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and tears, and two rather nervous-looking goblins entered the room – one carrying a large jug and a mug, and the other one a tray with a steaming plate on it. Sarah's stomach grumbled at the sight of food, and she tried to compose herself and got to her feet.

"Your dinner, Lady Sarah," the smallest goblin said and they placed it on the small table next to the bed, before they ran out again, not waiting for a thank you. It looked dull and grey, not really appetizing, but for Sarah, just having a warm meal was a rare treat. A cloud of dust rose from the bedcovers, as she sat down on them, and she could see a heavy layer of dust on the table as well. Apparently this room hadn't been used for ages. She carefully peeled away the covers, which were thick and lavish – they had at least protected the bed sheets beneath them, so she would not have to sleep in all that dust. Touching only the new tray, she returned to the food and dug in. She would need to be strong for tomorrow and the confrontation with the Goblin King.


	4. The Confession

_Ohh.. it's good to be back - I've really missed writing and publishing :)_

_ Here is a bit more, Steele :)_

_Sarah Rose: Excellently spotted! Jareth is not directly seen feeding Toby, I believe, but it is implied when he compliments a burping Toby. However, Sarah was not present with them in that scene, so she would have had no reason to think Jareth had done so and therefore it is not mentioned, as the story is solely from Sarah's POV. A note in chapter 13 will later explain why - even if he did feed him - Toby was not affected._

* * *

When Sarah woke, the room was bright with sunlight, streaming in all colours through the tall window panes. She found that the tray with dinner had been replaced with another, this one with bread, butter, cheese and fruit. The table had been wiped and the bedcover she had placed on the floor was gone, so clearly someone had been in here. First of all, she needed to find a bathroom. She had been too tired last night to look around, but now she rushed to the door of the wash room, as Jareth had called it, assuming that something would be in there. What she found was a smaller room with just a single clear window, and in the corner, hidden in a niche, was a set-up looking like something from an old medieval movie – a wooden lid, covering a low chamber pot. In a basket beside it was a pile of dried moss. Although primitive, it was at least relatively clean, without any dust on it - so it looked like this had also been brought in during the night, just for her.

On a shelf stood a water jug and a basin, and a pile of rough towels lay beside it. Otherwise there were no modern bathroom facilities – no shower, no bathtub, no sink, and Sarah realised that this was one aspect she had never really thought about at all, but just taken for granted. The Goblin King looked so careful with his appearance that she had half imagined him to have a huge master bathroom decorated like a theatre dressing room and filled with appliances. She washed her hands and face with water and then opened the wardrobe which dominated a full wall in the dressing room. It was empty, except for a single lonely bundle of clothes of a shelf. Everything looked and smelled as if it had been deserted for years, perhaps decades – a musty museum smell that Sarah associated with the colonial village exhibitions, she had often visited as a child – but when she took the bundle, it looked relatively fresh and clean, as if placed there very recently.

Going back to the room, she spread out the clothes on the bed. There was a white shirt with wide sleeves gathered at the wrist and a green dress wide a low-cut bodice and a wide skirt carefully embroidered with a complicated leaf-design in silver and green. She recognised some other bits as old-fashioned underwear, but decided to stick to her own and just wear the shirt and dress. There was also a simple pair of black shoes, which fit reasonably well, when she tried them on. She would have felt a bit better in her own clothes, but after sleeping in them – twice – she really felt she needed to change out of them to look her best for the meeting with Jareth.

After getting dressed, she grabbed some bread and walked slowly to the large windows, where she perched comfortably on the window sill that was broad and silky smooth to the touch. Looking though the light-yellow brightest past of the colour-stained glass, she was disappointed to find that there wasn't much of a view – she could only see she was at least thirty feet above the ground and just opposite was a sandstone tower structure, bare and without windows. Far to one side, she could glimpse the twisting walls of the labyrinth and a bit of the Goblin City.

Savouring the taste of the warm bread, she realized how odd it feld to not have to conceal what she was eating – to be actually freely eating without pretence. The bread was much similar to what Hoggle had been bringing her these past years, but the fact that it was fresh and there was plenty of it was unusual enough. She felt a bit better after eating, but still very tired.

Looking around the room, she noticed something white in a corner. It looked like another piece of furniture, just covered up nicely with a relatively clean sheet. She went there and tentatively lifted a corner of it to see what was underneath – and a worn teddy bear stared back at her from between the bars of a large crib. The crib was obviously old and presently unused, but it was fixed up with blankets and pillows under the cover, just waiting for an occupant. Like Toby, she thought angrily, or another unfortunate baby. There was a knock on the door, and she let the cover fall back and straightened. A goblin, looking cross and resentful peered in and snapped at her to come with him to His Majesty.

Combing her hair with her fingers and straightening her dress, she followed him through long empty corridors made of yellow sandstone and with only a few windows for light. Even the Castle was maze-like – the corridors weren't straight or even with the same height, and after just a few minutes of turning left and right without any seeming pattern, Sarah was well and truly lost. She was grateful she hadn't gone out by herself to explore – she would never have been able to find her way back on her own.

At last they reached a set of grand doors slightly ajar, and the goblin pushed her towards them and left without a word. Sarah took a deep breath and knocked on the doors.

"Do come in, Sarah," a familiar voice called, and she pushed the doors open and entered an equally familiar room, the Goblin King's throne room. The doors immediate slammed shut behind her by themselves and made her jump in surprise, and she glared at the king that was surely responsible. Staring around in the room, she noticed the mess in the corners and things here and there clearly belonging to goblins, but Jareth looked immaculate as ever, slung back on his throne, wearing his white poet's shirt, blue breaches and black boots. He was alone, not a goblin in sight anywhere. Again, Sarah felt intimidated by his overwhelming presence.

"Well, Sarah," he began, his eyes glittering as he looked her straight in the eyes and smiled lazily. "What are we going to do with you?"

She slowly approached the throne, stopping a small distance from him and returning his gaze boldly not to show her uneasiness. "I can wait," she replied and willed her voice to be calm. "I'm more interested in seeing Hoggle and knowing he is safe."

Jareth frowned. "The dwarf, the dwarf, always the dwarf. I'm beginning to think you care more about him than me, Sarah."

"He is my friend, you know I care."

"Yes, I do," Jareth sighed and then made a gesture with his whip to his right. Sarah's eyes followed, and she saw a smaller door opening. And behind it…

"Hoggle!" Sarah rushed to meet him and caught him in a big hug, and he squeezed her back with a big smile. "I've been so worried! Are you ok? What happened?"

"Yes, Hoggle," Jareth said behind them and sounded amused, "tell her what happened."

"Well, no need to get all into details," Hoggle said and looked away, "I'm fine, Sarah girl, and that's all that matters, isn't it?"

Sarah turned back to Jareth with narrowed eyes. "Is he free now? Are you letting him go?"

"He was never my prisoner," Jareth said evenly and crossed his arms in front of him. "Tell her, Hoggle."

Sarah spun around again, now really confused. Hoggle looked the same as always, except that he shuffled his feet and wasn't meeting her eyes. "What, Hoggle? What is it he wants you to tell me?"

"Well, ye see, I sort of didn't really get arrested," he mumbled and picked at the bag of jewels hanging from his belt.

"You did! I was there, remember?" Sarah took a step towards him and kneeled down to look him straight into the eyes. "What is it, Hoggle? Don't be afraid of Jareth, I won't let him hurt you."

Jareth snickered in the background, but Sarah ignored him and smiled reassuringly at Hoggle, who looked even more uncomfortable than before.

"I'm sorry, Sarah, I… I didn't mean to upset ye," Hoggle stammered, "but it couldn't go on like that. Ye were dying, that was clear to us. We had to do something."

"We…? Who is 'we'? And no, I wasn't dying."

"Yes, ye were, me girl," Hoggle insisted, "I could see ye get weaker from the lack of food - ye were losing yer spirit and will to live every day, every week. A month more, and ye might have gone to sleep and never woken. I couldn't let that happen – yer me best friend."

Sarah grew cold and felt her smile disappear. "Oh no, Hoggle, what have you done?"

"I… I asked him to pretend to arrest me, Sarah." The confession sounded strained and his eyes were sad and pleading. "If ye would not call him to save yerself, I thought ye might do it to save me. And I was right. Everything will be alright now."

Sarah sank to the ground in disbelief and covered her face with her hands. Somehow, she doubted that anything would ever be "alright" anymore.


	5. Secrets of the Labyrinth

"I think you've done far enough," she heard Jareth say to Hoggle. "Now scurry along and go ask the goblins to make some lunch for her."

She heard the door close behind him and knew she was alone again with Jareth, but she could not find the energy to care or get up.

"Sarah, he meant it in the best way possible." Jareth's voice was calm and even. "We've been watching you fade away for years, and I believe he is right – it was a matter of weeks before you would have been lost. You would have died."

"You knew?" she whispered. "But you sounded so surprised, when I told you back Above?"

"I happen to be an excellent actor when necessary, my dear. I have known since the very first month. The dwarf tried to keep you alive on his own, but when I noticed his frequent visits and the goblins complained of missing food, I had a little… friendly chat with him that made me aware of the situation. It is only because of your situation that he was allowed to visit Above so often."

"So you came up with a plan to trick me…"

"He was desperate and pleaded with me – and you know me, Sarah." He gave a strained little laugh. "Always happy to play the villain."

"I still can't believe he would really do that and force me Underground. Force me to call you!"

"Am I really a fate worse than death?" Jareth's voice was hard.

"Depends on what you plan to do with me," Sarah countered tiredly and raised her head to look at him. He was leaning against the throne, whip in hand and his strange eyes met hers with an intensity that made her flush. "I'm here now, Jareth, and all yours. And you have had plenty of time to consider. So what will it be? Do you need another goblin to wait on you? Or a female slave to warm your bed?"

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't break eye contact. Jareth was silent for a long time, before he spoke, and now his voice was more serious than she had ever heard it before. "Let me start by telling you about the Underground, so you'll be able to make sense of it all."

He looked away and started pacing the floor. "I have lived here for centuries alone in this Castle. The Labyrinth itself – no one knows how old it is or how and why it was made – it just is. It size is immense – I can fly for a full day and night day across it and still not get to the farthest end, and only the magical portals and doorways inside it allows the creatures living in it to travel between the Castle, the City and their homes."

"I've heard from Hoggle about the creatures," Sarah offered, "that you, besides the goblins, have all kind of creatures here, some less nice than others…"

"Yes, there are some that constantly have to be reminded of their place," he said with a frown. "Lately one in particular, but that's another story. Some have their own villages in the outskirts of the Labyrinth. Others have emigrated from the Wilderness beyond, a great forest that stretches all the way to the Sea in order to find a more secure life here in the Goblin City. Your big furry friend is one of those, while the dwarf and the little knight are true creatures of the Labyrinth. True creatures mean that they have been created by the Labyrinth and lives to serve it, either as guardians or by maintaining it."

"And then there's me in the centre, the Goblin King, the keeper of all this. Bound by ancient vows to serve them all and serve the human world by taking away their unwanted. I cannot leave the boundaries of the Labyrinth, except to go Aboveground – for me, the borders are impenetrable."

He paused for a moment and met her eyes again. "When I'm called to take a child and it stays with me, the Labyrinth's powers kick in after exactly 13 hours, 13 minutes and 13 seconds. After 13 hours, the child is called to the Fragment Room by the Labyrinth. You know it, Sarah; it was the place where we saw each other for the last time three years ago. Then, after 13 minutes the last piece of floor falls away and if the child hasn't jumped off before, it now falls down gently, floating towards the Labyrinth. Finally after 13 seconds, the child lands safely in the Labyrinth. On the way down the child loses all memories of its former life and is transformed – it is longer a child, but a goblin. Well, most of the time, anyway. The Labyrinth makes it its own, giving it the shape and size that the Labyrinth needs at that moment. Small children are usually turned into goblins. But the Labyrinth also takes older children… and adult humans who have been desperate enough to bargain with me and offer themselves instead of the child… those become Guardians."

Sarah was stunned. "Are you saying that Hoggle have once been human? And Sir Didymus? And all the goblins?"

He nodded. "Very good, Sarah, that's exactly what I'm saying. Except for your friend, the yeti, every single one of the creatures and persons you have met in the Labyrinth has once been human." He stared at her meaningfully, and then suddenly Sarah made the connection.

"YOU were human once…" she whispered, and the Goblin King smiled bitterly and nodded, before resuming his pacing.

"The dwarf and the knight know they have been human once, but do not remember their human lives at all. The dwarf was once a young man who was too scared to return home without his brother. He wished to remain instead, and I granted him that wish. The knight was a valiant young squire, who had wished his master's son away, and when he lost, he chose to remain with the child rather than face the dishonour of abandoning it."

"And you… but you remember?" Sarah was interested in her friends, but much more in the Goblin King and his revelation.

"Yes," he replied. "I do. I was born England in the year 1610. My father was a parson, a man of the Church, and took it very personally that man had been asked by God to populate the Earth. I was the oldest son and by the time I was 21, my mother died in childbirth with her thirteenth child, worn out by my father's constant attention. The child, a frail little girl, lived, and enraged by the news, I invoked the cruellest curse I could think of: "I wish the Goblins would come and take the worthless child away!" I had loved my mother with all my heart and was blinded by grief. The curse was one I had picked up in one of the large tomes of witchcraft that my father had confiscated as evidence from the witch hunts. Unfortunately, just as I spoke the words, the door opened, and my father's colleague – a dedicated witch hunter – entered and heard it. And moments later, the midwife screamed from the bedroom that the child was gone without a trace. My fate was sealed."

Sarah had read about the witch hunts, both in Europe and America, but found it almost unbelievable that she was right now talking to someone who had actually experienced it. She had never before considered the option that Jareth was or had been human. A fairy or elf or Fay, perhaps – many names had been used for the same concept, but those were born magical in every legend she had ever read.

Jareth turned to face her and leaned against the wall, his face drawn as if he didn't want to remember. "I was thrown in jail, scheduled for interrogation and torture the very next day, but I almost felt I deserved it, having invoked such heathen and forbidden magic. When left alone, I was surprised by an ugly middle-aged man in blue robes, who materialised before me and presented himself as Cederick, the Goblin King. He looked annoyed and said he had taken the child as requested, but that my little sister was too weak to live and had died only minutes after. He returned the child to my arms and started to fade away, but I was desperate – well knowing the fate that awaited me, so I begged him to take me away with him, wishing myself to be taken by the Goblin King. And he took me, leaving the child behind to get a Christian burial."

"So… there was another Goblin King?" Sarah found herself spellbound by his low hypnotic voice and unexpected tale. This was definitely not the way she had envisioned this conversation to go.

Jareth nodded and lifted a hand to stroke the half-moon shaped pendant around his neck, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I came here, and it looked more or less like now, except more old, worn-out and dirty. I was alone for a number of hours, just being fed by the goblins and walking around, trying to figure out the castle and its maze-like structure, but after half a day – the 13 hours - the Goblin King showed up and we were suddenly in the Fragment room. He said he had decided to abdicate, that he had been king for more than 200 years and couldn't take it anymore. But the Labyrinth needed a king, so my arrival had been perfect timing. I had no choice and no time to think about it – he forced me to wear a spelled necklace to ensure that when I fell, I did not become a Guardian, but the magical being I am today. And then we went through a second ritual to give me the power over the Labyrinth. After a few days of training, he was suddenly gone, and I was left alone to rule. That was 357 years ago."

Sarah was speechless – this was beyond anything she has imagined. But ending his tale, Jareth set in motion again and walked towards her with gleaming eyes and determined steps, and she got up, backing away from him in fear. He hardly noticed, but kept advancing on her until she felt the wall against her back and he was merely a hands breath away, leaning close to her.

"Are you afraid of me, Sarah?" he whispered with a smirk, and she couldn't deny it, nodding slightly. He leaned even closer, and she could smell spices and feel the unnatural heat radiating from his body, before he suddenly drew back and laughed.

"Do you know what I will do with you, Sarah?" he proclaimed, the serious attitude gone. He looked every inch the Goblin King she remembered, tall, proud and arrogant, and his eyes locked hers in a piercing glace. "I am going to give you the choice that I never had…"


	6. Would you choose left or right?

_Thanks for all the reviews :)_

_HAL: Ouch, you're right, that does sound like Lestat, though it must be 15 years since I read the books. Amazing the sentences that just stick in your mind..._

_Nekochan: Nope, his age is never mentioned in the movie. The 1.300 years are from the later manga cartoon, which of course isn't the real Labyrinth, since it contains no trace of Henson or Bowie..._

_Kaytori: Whaddayu mean 'poor state'? :) The fire was lit and the bed was made since the last time anyone slept in it, nothing was broken, there were no mess from the goblins in the corners... What poor state? :D And, as you will see in this chapter, his plans does not include her staying in that room anyway... _

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Sarah held her breath and waited, but he just stood there, smiling cruelly. Her brain processed all the information in the story he had just told, and then she drew the conclusion.

"I'm going to be transformed, when I've been here for 13 hours," she whispered, not quite believing it. "Will you offer to let me go before then? Can you cure my intolerance, so I can eat mortal food again?"

"No, Sarah, I'm afraid even I cannot do that. If I send you back, you will starve to death. But if you want me to, I can help you to keep your memories and not become a Guardian – but instead become… like me."

His voice was confident and smug and he certainly didn't sound like he lamented not being able to send her back. But what did he mean – become like him? She couldn't say a word, but just looked at him and waited.

"It is very simple," he continued and two crystal balls appeared out of thin air, on in each of his hands. He held up the one in his left hand and it shimmered and glowed. "Either I stand back and let the transformation happen as always and then you become a random creature in my Labyrinth forgetting all about being Sarah…" He threw the ball to the ground with a casual flip of his wrist, and it exploded in mists that swirled and showed a multitude of creatures – dwarves, birds, a mermaid, a fiery and others she couldn't identify, before the smoke evaporated.

"Or…" he held up the other ball, "I grant you the use of the necklace I wore, so the fall instead gives you longevity and magic, so you become like me, remembering everything. And you will stay here at the Castle with me forever as my consort." He threw the other ball, and from the mists rose an image of a slender young woman with shimmering hair and a small crown, suddenly turning into an owl and disappearing.

"Your consort?" Sarah recoiled and stared at him in disbelief. "You want to... marry me? Why would you do that?"

He narrowed his eyes and smiled bleakly. "Sarah, 357 years is a very long time to have only goblins for company. They are not very good conversationalists, and to be frank, I'm bored out of my mind. You have intrigued me from the moment I met you and I think you should be able to handle the Labyrinth well. There are so very few that are able to defeat the Labyrinth, you know – it's been more than four decades since the last one before you."

His eyes became darker and glittered dangerously, as he gestured with his whip to a silver clock that suddenly materialized out of nowhere. The clock's hands showed the time to be close to 10 o'clock. "There is not much time left, as you can see. 3 hours, Sarah, before the Labyrinth claims you, so you have to think fast. And I must have at least an hour to prepare the ritual before."

Sarah wanted to ask a million questions, but she couldn't utter a word, she just looked at the ground before her, where the crystal shards glittered in the dim light, and she felt as shattered as them. After watching her a moment, the Goblin King clapped his hands sharply, and immediately at door to the throne room opened. Sarah turned and watched as a female goblin in black robes and a black cape quickly entered.

"Your Majesty called?"

"Lunch. Now!" The goblin bowed and scurried out of the room again, and it took only a few seconds, before they came hurrying back together with more goblins carrying a table and a chair. They placed the table, so the king's throne would serve as the second chair, and then started setting everything up.

Sarah looked on, feeling numb and overwhelmed. She had imagined many things she might be asked to do in the Underground and even the possibility of not being allowed to stay in the Labyrinth, but becoming a magical creature and married to the Goblin King had been very low on her list of likely situations. So those were her choices – married to him or being turned into something unknown and losing her identity? The more she thought about it, she realised that there was actually very little to consider – how could she ever consent to losing her identity and being turned into some creature? A mermaid might be nice, but what if she became a worm or a goblin or a bag lady, like the ones she had met – living from day to day and being ruled by Jareth, never knowing anything else and forgetting all about Toby and defeating the Labyrinth? No, she couldn't do that. But marriage?

"Jareth", she attempted, trying to buy time, "why a marriage? Isn't that kind of pointless – we are, or will be, the only two people here, so who would marry us or witness it? I can keep you company if you like, but I'm not ready for marriage. Please, I'm only 18."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sarah, in my days, that was a perfectly normal age to get married. I was raised in a very religious home with a parson for a father. I might be hundreds of years away from that childhood, but I could never have you living here as my partner and share my quarters without offering you marriage – even if we have to make do with an improvised ritual."

"So I was right earlier," she said weakly, "you are just looking for someone to warm your bed!"

He took two fast strides towards her and cornered her against the wall, and his nearness forced her to look up at him as he towered dangerously over her. His lazy smile returned, as he lifted a hand and slowly set the whip against her thigh and let it travel caressingly up her body, grazing her entire left side and finally settling against her chin. Sarah flushed and pressed herself closer to the wall, but held his gaze with her last ounce of defiance.

"Sarah, don't be crude," he said softly. "It's not like that, I'm just predicting the inevitable. I'm being generous with you, am I not? I'm giving you a choice!"

"Some choice!" she replied and shook her head, "your bed or forgetting who I am! You know I can't choose to forget."

"I was hoping you would say that – it would be a shame to forget, wouldn't it? I need you, Sarah, and my previous offer still stands…" The whip slipped behind her ear and neck, tickling uncomfortably and unsettling. "Fear me, love me, do as I say…"

She reached up and slapped it away, but that just made him smile wider and take another step closer to her, so they were almost touching. She could feel the heat of his body against hers, and the sudden realization of how tall and overpowering he was made her shiver in fear, just as he apparently craved. Very deliberately, he cupped her chin with the other hand and then leaned down so she could feel his warm breath on her lips. She squeezed her eyes together, waiting for the inevitable kiss, but instead she felt him trace her chin and jaw line with his breath, and she stood perfectly still, not daring to move in order not to provoke him.

"…and you will be my slave," she had to whisper, finishing the quote. "But it is not generous, Jareth. You were never generous – you just played by your own rules."

"Well…," he replied curtly and she felt a hand grip her hair and pull slightly on it to tip her head up. "My kingdom – my rules."

And then his lips found hers.


	7. When left is right

Sarah gasped at the forceful invasion and instinctively beat her hands on his chest to push him away, but she might as well have tried to move a mountain. His hard lips crushed hers almost painfully and he forced her mouth open and let his tongue flicker into hers, while his long fingers weaved through her hair. Recoiling and pressing herself against the wall, she tried to resist, but he just tightened his grip and ignored her protests, pinning her against the wall with his unnaturally warm body.

Having lived isolated ever since she came back from the Labyrinth, Sarah had never experienced anything like this. Not only was he hurting her and scaring her, she was also crushed at the thought of _this_ being her first kiss ever. There was no passion on her side, no pleasure, and it was definitely not gentle and soft and shared with someone she loved, like she had always imagined. She just wanted to get away. Without much strength left and close to tears, she continued to struggle until a loud crash in the background interrupted them, and he lifted his head and glanced back with an audible sigh.

"I think the goblins are about ready with your lunch," he said in a dark tight voice, but Sarah hardly registered his words – she was just waiting for him to release her. The moment he let go, she flung herself away from him and towards the door the goblins were using, and then ran as if her life depended on it. She heard him shout her name behind her, but she didn't care and just ran on, down the corridors, almost knocking over a goblin that was in the way. She had no idea where she was going and made random turns until she found a flight of stairs that went down, and then she followed those, until she suddenly felt fresh air and found a door to the outside. A garden was beyond, and she stopped there, breathing heavily, before she let herself collapse on ground and started crying her heart out. Not softly or silently, but with ugly hiccupping tears and sobs, that hurt and tore at her throat and eyes. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her body and head as if for protection, and she allowed herself to be lost in her misery, too tired to think or become angry again.

When her tears finally stilled, she stayed motionless on the ground, completely drained of energy. She knew she had a choice to make, but she couldn't will herself to care. The feeling of apathy wasn't foreign to her – she had often had days like that back home, especially when she was lightheaded from hunger. Maybe it would be better to just let go, she thought, and let the Labyrinth do whatever it thought best. Becoming someone else suddenly didn't seem so bad – at least she wouldn't have to worry about Jareth anymore. All her worries of the past years would be gone as well as all the losses - like Toby - she would otherwise have to remember every day and every hour. And not just for a lifetime, but surely much longer if she was also to live for hundreds of years like Jareth. Maybe forgetfulness would be a blessing.

She wondered how much time she had left of the three hours – maybe two, still? Two hours left to be Sarah, and then she could forget and rest.

"I didn't think you'd scare so easily," a familiar velvety voice said behind her. She could hear his boots on the stone tiles as he walked closer, but she felt so spent that she didn't bother to look up. "Where is the spirited Sarah, I remember so well?"

"Leave me alone, Jareth."

"As my Lady commands," he replied gently, "but I just wanted to leave you your lunch, so you can get your strength back before the transformation. Remember, in just 2 hours and 7 minutes, you'll be mine… forever, Sarah."

She clenched her fists, but didn't reply, and after a few moments, she could hear him leave again. She waited until she was sure he was gone, and then slowly sat up and looked around. A plate was on a bench nearby as well as a goblet, and although she didn't want to think about something as mundane as food, her body clearly disagreed as her stomach growled loudly. She sampled a bit of everything on the plate, and despite her resignation, the meal was the best Sarah could remember since… well, since before her first trip to the Labyrinth. After eating mostly cold food, bread and fruit for two years, she couldn't help enjoying every bit of the still warm salmon, chicken and spiced vegetables, as well as the crystal clear and cold water.

The food brought her halfway out of her misery, and she finally looked around to see where she was. The garden appeared to be a small fenced-in patio garden between the high yellow walls of the castle, where a few trees and some bushes had managed to get enough sunlight to thrive. A small fountain with water lilies stood in the middle, partly overgrown by ivy and moss, and four benches surrounded it. The only way in and out was the door she had used before. On one of the other benches, a small silver clock was ticking away the minutes, and Sarah was sure Jareth had just placed it there to remind her of how little time she had left.

He had sounded so smug, she thought, as if he was sure she would beg to be his wife, and again she considered the alternative – not quite as repulsed as before. Maybe she would end up a mermaid, or a unicorn or some kind of nice furry beast like Sir Didymus – how many bag ladies could the Labyrinth need, after all? And she knew now what the alternative would be – a life-time with an arrogant and conceited Goblin King, who would always remind her that she chose her fate herself and who would expect her to welcome his advances. 'Her slave', indeed – not very likely! She wondered if he even knew he had been hurting her with his kiss, or if he possibly thought she had actually liked it?

As the clock ticked away the minutes – 1 hour and 33 minutes left now – she mentally made a list of pros and cons. He had after all given her the choice and she had to make the most of it and be sure of what she wanted. And where she at first had found everything in favour of staying herself, she could now see the benefits of letting the Labyrinth take her. She didn't even really need the list – every time she thought back to his painfully demanding kiss and imagined what would come after, if she became his wife, she felt at ease with that choice, until she realized her mind was made up. And if he wanted a spirited Sarah – then by all means he would get it! A feeling of peace and contentment made her relax, and she settled back against the bench and stared up into the calm blue sky above her.

Time passed swiftly as she stared at the clock, until it was down to 3 minutes… 2 minutes… 1 minute…

The walls around her seemed to collapse and she floated gently down for a moment, until she found herself standing in the familiar Fragment Room, a new clock ticking the last minutes away before her. Jareth was there in his white feathery outfit with the half moon pendant around his neck, smiling softly at her and holding out his hand. A crystal ball appeared in his hand and then turned into a heavy silver necklace.

"It is time, Sarah," he said and lifted it towards her. "The enchantment is ready – let me put this on you, and you will keep your shape and memories – then the Labyrinth will not have you, but only enhance you like it enhanced me."

She smiled back at him, finally feeling free and happy for the first time in all these years.

"You gave me a choice, Jareth. Aren't you even going to ask me what I've chosen?"

His brows furrowed and he took a step towards her. "What do you mean? You don't want to lose your memories, so you're choosing me and longevity – I thought we settled that hours ago?"

"Maybe you did, but I did not." Sarah almost pitied him – but only almost. "Thank you for the choice, Jareth. Have a nice life. Maybe if you treat her a little better, the next girl will choose you. I do not."

And with those words, she stepped off the edge and into the darkness below.


	8. Transformation

_Hadn't planned on posting until tomorrow, but I'm feeling generous today: I've been writing a later chapter in which a sexy half-naked Jareth kneels in front of Sarah in a moonlit room, and that image is bound to put anyone in a good mood :-)_

_Thanks for all the reviews:_

_HAL/Just: There is a touch of vampire over Jareth, and Lestat (book version, NOT film version) is 10 times more gorgeous than Edward Cullen, but no crossover in this story :-)_

_I can see you're all waiting to see what the Labyrinth will do to her, now that she jumped. Well, you forgot to consider... what will one disappointed Goblin King do about it?_

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Sara heard an angry roar above her as she fell, and then suddenly Jareth appeared in his owl form and beat his wings furiously into her face. Something cold fell around her neck and half strangled her, and when she realized he had managed to get the necklace on her, she tore at it and tried to get it off, but he kept beating his large wings in front of her and obscuring her view. When her fingers closed firmly around the cold silver, the owl screeched and clawed at her hands, almost drawing blood.

"Jareth, go away!" she screamed and beat at the owl with her hands. "We had a deal!"

Suddenly a blinding light surrounded her and she felt an intense heat surround her, and every part of her body tingled and burned. The air shone with electric sparks in all the colours of the rainbow. She forgot the owl and cried out in surprise and agony, but then the pain stopped and only a warm feeling remained. She felt her hair and dress flow free around her as if she was weightless and a moment after, she landed gently in the middle of the throne room. The owl was there as well, and immediately turned into Jareth, who looked angry enough to kill someone.

Sarah was furious as well. "What the hell was that?! I told you I didn't want it! What have you done to me?!"

"I have planned this for three years, Sarah," he shouted back and threw a crystal to the ground, for no other apparent reason than the satisfaction of hearing it shatter into a million pieces. "I don't think you realized what I have sacrificed to prepare this necklace for you! And you dare refuse me at the last moment?"

"I don't care about your plan! I don't want you – don't you get it!?"

"Oh, you WILL when I'm through with you," he hissed and the next crystal hit her square on, but instead of any pain, she felt a strong pull and suddenly she was somewhere else. The slimy grey stone walls and dim light made it obvious that she was back in one of the oubliettes, and she screamed in rage and stomped her feet in the ground.

"Jareth, come back here, you bastard! You can't just leave me here!"

There was no reply, and she groaned in frustration and took some deep breaths, trying to calm down. The necklace was still around her throat, and she ripped it off and threw it to the ground. She had been so ready to let go and let the Labyrinth take her and then he had cheated and forced this transformation on her anyway. She paused and looked down at herself – what had actually happened? She couldn't see much in the darkness, but she looked more or less the same as before, perhaps a little less skinny. Whatever Jareth had put of magic into the necklace seemed to have had the effect he desired – she had not become a creature, but remained herself with her own body and memories. Her body was still warm inside, and she slowly let her hands trace her face and hair, attempting to feel if there were any significant changes, but nothing was really noticeable. Had she really become like him now?

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Sarah could see more and more of the room. The cell space was very small and there were no doors at all, and no windows – the light came from above, as if the impossibly high ceiling continued all the way up to the sunlight. She could feel the air was very cool and clammy, but the unnatural heat inside her kept her warm and comfortable, and slowly she started to notice that she could hear sounds she'd never heard before. The wings of a moth flying past. The scurry of a rat in a corner. And the smells – she could smell a thousand different ones at the same time, although most of them were completely unfamiliar to her. She felt her anger slowly fading, as she went to a wall and let her hands glide over the texture feeling not only the rough stone she would have felt before, but also the age of the stone and the density of it, although she was at a loss to understand how she could feel those things. This was really weird. Was Jareth really experiencing all of this all the time? She slowly walked around the room and in two different places she could feel that the layer of stone was shell thin and that there was a pathway behind. She tried to push and find some kind of hidden latch both on the wall and on the floor beside it, but was unable to figure out how it worked.

Finally she leaned against a wall to gather her thoughts, and the first thing had to admit was that not only had her senses apparently been sharpened by the transition - her head was also clearer than it had been in a long time, maybe years. The headaches, the fatigue, the constant urge to cry and hide from the world had vanished without a trace and she felt almost sizzling with energy. Had the starvation really affected her that much? She felt like someone had removed a huge burden from her shoulders – a burden so familiar she had not realized she was carrying it – and now she was free and truly alive. She felt like flying, laughing and hugging someone, and all the fear and anger and resignation she had gone through in the past hours seemed like a distant nightmare. She might be locked in an oubliette and bound to the Labyrinth forever, but it was really difficult to be unhappy with all this new energy and these sensations.

As for Jareth's deceit – well, she was still upset with _him_, she admitted to herself, but if she had known how much better she would be feeling after the transformation, she might just have agreed to it on her own and then dealt with the marriage-proposition afterwards. But she had been incapable of taken that decision in the weakened state she had been in before - it was only visible to her now that she could see it with fresh eyes and a clear mind.

She wondered how much of Jareth's motivation had been a selfish wish to get a companion and a … bed partner, and how much - if any - had been out of a desire to right the wrong he had accidently done her by giving her the peach. Or was that just her wishful thinking? Was he a villain through and through or did he have some kind of conscience behind his arrogant attitude? Could she afford not to give him the benefit of doubt, now that she was stuck here in the Labyrinth anyway – apparently with no other company than him and the guardians?

"Jareth?" She called and waited to see if he was watching her. "Are you there? Can you hear me? … Can we talk?"

Many heartbeats passed, but nothing changed and he didn't appear. Maybe he was still too angry, she mused, and then stretched her arms and looked around again. If the doors didn't work, could she find another way out of here? She wasn't going to just sit here and wait while he was sulking.

Having given up on the doors, she gazed up to see how far it was. Hmm… very far – the shaft curved a few meters up, so it was impossible to any further than that, but she could smell the fresh air from above, so there must be a way out there, although she would have to climb or fly to get there.

Fly? She remembered Jareth's powers and the vision he had shown her in the crystal in the throne room – the crowned girl turning into an owl. Maybe she _could_ fly? She had no idea how to use her magic, but went with her instincts and closed her eyes while she started slowly twirling on the floor. She tried staying in one place where the ceiling was tallest and imagining herself being an owl – a silent creature of the night with big wings and sharp round eyes… She pictured the owl image carefully and tried to harness the energy within herself, and suddenly she felt warm all over and her vision distorted, as she felt her body change in the weirdest way – not unpleasantly, but rather like… like she would feel if she was made out of jelly or clay. There was no comparison really, but like jelly her fingers stretched into wings, her nose to a beak and her feet to claws, and suddenly she was airborne and flapping strong white wings towards the ceiling – flying upwards to get enough space to spread the wings properly, and just moments after she could see the blinding daylight through a rusty metal grate. The bars on the grate was too close to fly through, so she flew a few turns around it to observe, and then landed on a protruding rock beside it, before she hopped along the wall and used her thick claws to grip the bars and squeeze through.

Above her was a part of the sandstone labyrinth, and not wanting to draw attention to herself, she launched herself into the grey overcast sky and flew upwards, until the whole of the Labyrinth was spread out before her. She could see forests and lakes and thousands of miles of hedges and walls, and there, miles away, was the Castle beyond the Goblin City. She flew a few circles and enjoyed the wind under her wings and the exhilarating feeling of flying, but then finally made a last turn and headed off towards the Castle. She was no longer the trembling half-starved girl, Jareth had brought Underground. She was strong again, tingling with magic, and it was time to confront him and get some answers. She wasn't afraid of him anymore. If he expected her, she would not try to hide, and if he didn't – well that would be even better. If owls could have smiled, Sarah would have been grinning all the way.


	9. A Truce

_Thanks for all the reviews :) The next few chapters will not be quite as full of cliffhangers, as it is time for some explanations of the Labyrinth and magic... but don't get too relaxed, the cliffies will be back - and with a vengence! ;)_

_DreamBubble: Labyrinth minds think alike - in the beginning I was actually thinking of making the WiseMan the old king, but he seemed to harmless to be a villain, and I needed a villain more than another link to the movie. Concerning the sacrifice - that will be explained later..._

_Neko: Glad you like. I'll be twisting it slightly different, but an opposing Sarah could definitely also have made a good story...!_

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The castle looked so much smaller from above. It was all yellow sandstone and grey roof tiles and the windows were few and far between. In one tower she saw stained glass windows which might be where her room had been last night, and in the same tower furthest up was a grand balcony overlooking the Labyrinth. It caught her attention because something glittered and shimmered on the stone tiles of the balcony, covering the sandstone walls in prism rainbows, and when she got closer, she noticed a lone figure there sitting on a stone bench – all clad in black and with bowed head. Jareth. He didn't look up or move when she silently landed on the opposite tower roof, but seemed withdrawn and lost in thoughts, his shoulders slumped and his head hidden in his hands. He looked… dejected and lonely, and Sarah almost felt bad about spying on him like this. The glitter around him was broken crystal and it was everywhere, as if he had shattered a hundred crystal balls one by one.

Just a few hours ago she would have felt triumph at the sight, but with fear gone and most of her anger, she looked at him and felt only compassion. He may have behaved despicably, but if he really had been alone for 350 years, it might not be surprising that he didn't know how to behave towards others. Or how to handle that his carefully laid plans were challenged. _You're really daft_, Sarah, she thought to herself – _coming up with all those excuses for his behavior_. But she remembered rejection and broken dreams all too well from her own life and knew what it was like. Before the Labyrinth; when her father had only had eyes for his new wife and son and little love left for his daughter. And after the Labyrinth; when she had had to hide from the world due to the peach's effect and because of that had lost the few friends she'd had.

Making up her mind, she launched herself into the air again and flew the short distance to the other tower and the balcony. Careful to aim for the section with the least shards of crystal, she landed with a soft thud on the stone tiles. After folding her wings, she let the warmth and energy flow through her, and with very little effort, she was back to her own form, complete with the green dress she had donned that morning.

"Are you so eager to defy me again that you even seek me out here?" Jareth's voice was low and emotionless, and he didn't look at her, but had lifted his head to stare out across the Labyrinth. "I see you found your owl form already. You have rejected me twice now - why not just fly away, if I am that abominable to you?"

Sarah winced and went to the bench to be closer him, because somehow – after her tiredness and aches had disappeared - his presence was not nearly as overwhelming or intimidating as before. It was much easier to believe right now that he had once been just a young mortal man and not the fearful Goblin King. Instead she studied him with her new sharpened senses, where in addition to heightening the smells and sounds, her vision was also clearer, even without the help of her bird-eyes. She noticed all kinds of little details about him – his pale skin and firm muscles, the glittering around his eyes that looked like fairy dust, and the smell of spices… no, it was magic that smelled that way - much stronger now and also present on herself, although not quite as strongly. He was clad all in black leather with a long flowing petroleum-blue cape, and his unruly hair had matching blue highlights.

"You are not abominable, Jareth," she sighed and seated herself on the bench, not quite touching him. "You are just… well, you can't take for granted that everything will happen the way you want it. I am not your subject like the goblins - you are not _my_ king."

He didn't answer, but kept staring towards the horizon. She sighed.

"I could have flown away," she agreed and stared hard at him. "But I came here, because I want to know everything and you have the answers. All the magic, all my abilities, how to make crystals. We need to talk – you owe me that much."

Jareth turned his head sharply to look at her and there was fire in his mismatched eyes.

"Owe you?" he said in a strange tight voice. "Yes, I can see why you would think that."

He jumped up and distanced himself from her, his sparkling velvet cape billowing behind him. "Will you stay afterwards?" he asked abruptly. "Not that I can't track you down and drag you back to the castle wherever you go, but it would be more… convenient if you stayed of your own accord."

"Jareth, stop that, I'm not afraid of you anymore," she warned. "And yes, I'll stay here for now – unless you give me reason to leave."

"You should be afraid of me, Sarah dear," he said and his eyes glittered dangerously, as he looked at her, but she met his gaze squarely without flinching, and finally he sighed.

"What a change – I hadn't realized…" his voice trailed off, but then he smiled slightly and relaxed, settling back against the balcony. "I can start by telling you how it was for me, if you like. It didn't feel any different at first, except that all my old wounds and bruises had vanished instantly. It seems as though the Labyrinth heals both physical and emotional wounds during the transformation. Also my eyes – I had trouble seeing long distances before, but suddenly all my senses were more than perfect. Sight, hearing, smell, taste. The rest came over time. I no longer needed to sleep or eat as much, and my clothes and body seemed to stay clean on its own. It was as if both skin, hair and fabric had taken on a different texture – I was truly not mortal anymore."

Sarah ran a hand through her hair – it _did_ feel cleaner and healthier than she would have expected, given that she hadn't washed it in two days.

"The old king, Cederick," Jareth said the name slightly contemptuously and with distaste. "He taught me to transport myself and others, so I would be able to do my duties as master of the Labyrinth. And he had provided me with a full Goblin King costume, before I was transformed, so I didn't need to perfect my shape-changing skills immediately. The magic – I shouldn't have been surprised, but growing up with my father's teachings, it took a long time to embrace the magic fully and explore what my new body was capable of."

"What _are_ you capable of?" she asked, too curious about his powers to dwell on why he obviously didn't like the old king. "Shape-changing?"

"Yes, and you will be, too, eventually. Look." He turned around and in an instant his black clothes were replaced by his normal blue pants and white shirt, and the blue highlights had disappeared. He turned again a second later, and then he was in his white suit with the large feathery cape, and after the third turn, he was back in black.

Sarah blinked and nodded approvingly. That suddenly made an awful lot of sense – both as to why the room for the night had been so sparsely equipped, but also how he could always be dressed in such fancy costumes. And she _had_ sometimes wondered how he even got a hold of the costumes – it didn't seem like the goblins would be very handy with needle and thread.

"Can you teach me?" she said and stood, immediately thinking about what she would like to change shape into.

"Yes, but one thing at a time," he cautioned. "Transforming between human shapes is for some reason much harder than animals."

He demonstrated by shifting into an owl and then a white lion, before returning to normal. "I spent months making my first new human shape, whereas the owl only took a day. But then again - all the Kings of the Labyrinth have had an owl shape, so I was certain I could at least do that one."

"Well, that's why I tried with an owl," she agreed and went to the balcony's railing to look out across the Labyrinth, "because you had already shown me I would be able to do it. And it is rather practical with a flying beast with the great distances in this Labyrinth."

She looked back at him and grew serious. "Jareth, I want a truce and we need to establish some ground rules between us. I really want to learn from you, but I will not be forced to be… your consort or mistress. You may have been able to intimidate me before, but I meant what I said before – you don't scare me anymore. I have powers like you now and I will fight you every step of the way, if you try something. And I really don't want to have to do that."

He frowned at her for a moment, but then a sly smile graced his face. "I accept your truce. And I will agree to not do anything you don't want me to…"

His tone suggested that he was certain she would change her mind, and Sarah scoffed and shook her head. "In your dreams, Jareth…" she muttered under her breath, but he seemed not to have heard and waved at her to follow him.

"Come, let's go inside – there's something you should see." He went inside without looking back, and she shrugged and slowly followed. At least they seemed to have an understanding now, and she was still curious to know more. The power inside her was ever present and she needed to know everything – learn everything, so she could fully embrace this new situation. Even if it meant she had to put up with Jareth's mood swings.


	10. Shape Shifter

_Hi all. Again, thanks for the reviews. The next two chapters were really supposed to be one chapter, but it got so long that I thought I'd better divide it. But I'll post both this time all the same._

_ nekochan: Hmm... not likely - I'm sure her father meant well, so it wouldn't be fair to just kill them off to get Toby Underground or to have them lose both children. And I wouldn't know what to do with Jareth, if he went Above._

* * *

Jareth led her into the room behind the balcony. The room was seemed very large and was clearly a tower room with a peculiarly rounded shaped, as if it covered this entire floor, but looking closer, it wasn't really that big – it just had an immensely high ceiling that was slightly pointed at the middle, creating the illusion of a much bigger room. At one side was a rough stone railing behind which a staircase descended, and at the other side a comfortable upholstered chair sat before the ornate fireplace with a small table next to it. The room also contained a large messy desk with a smaller book shelf next to it, and a very curious plateau taking up the entire far end of the room and occupying almost a fourth of it. She stared at it for a moment, before the pillows and drapes on and around it made her realise it was a bed – probably _his_ bed – despite the very odd and irregular shape of it, and she blushed and looked away. Jareth seemed not to have noticed - he was standing in front of a large ornate mirror hanging on the wall near the desk.

"Come and take a look at yourself." He waved her over and she obliged him curiously.

The girl that stared out at her from the mirror was strangely familiar, but it took a second before Sarah realized she was looking at herself. She gasped and took a step backwards, and the girl in the mirror did the same. Her face was the first thing she noticed – her eyes seemed larger and were accentuated with glittering fairy dust highlights in silver and dark grey, not as prominent as Jareth's, but very visible anyway. All traces of blemishes on her skin were gone, making it smooth and soft. Her dark hair was shiny and cascaded over her shoulders in soft waves as if it was newly styled, and she looked more… rounded and healthy. She was so used to seeing her thin body with the sickly starved look, but though she was still slender, she actually had womanly curves again. Sarah grinned in wonder, as she turned sideways in front of the mirror and tried to see herself from all angles, also inspecting her ears to see if they had grown pointed like an elf's (they hadn't). The green dress had been nice enough this morning, but it looked even better now that it emphasized her curves.

"Yes, I'm very pleased with the result as well," Jareth drawled, having taken a seat in the chair next to the desk, and she stopped turning in front of the mirror and looked wryly at him.

"Oh, shut up, Jareth," she replied, but still with a smile, and he shook his head.

"I'm glad you like it," he continued, "because this is what you will see in the mirror for a very very long time from now on. This is your natural shape that you will revert to when you're done with a shape change."

"Which part of it?" she asked? "The hair, the dress, the eyes?"

"All of it. When you fall asleep, this is how you will wake in the morning. When you revert from flying as an owl, this is how you will look. It will be easier to keep another shape as you get more experienced, but for now this is it."

"But I can change clothes, right?" Sarah had never been much interested in fashion or clothes, but it sounded a bit excessive if she was stuck with only one dress.

"You can, although I don't know where you would find new clothes down here. But the next time you shifted, you would be right back in this dress – with the other clothes on top of it." He smirked. "Your best option is to learn new shapes with new clothes – or ask me to create an illusion."

He conjured a crystal and let it flow gently towards her, and as it touched her, the green grown turned silver and the skirt widened, so she for a moment was wearing the ball gown she remembered from long ago, complete with glittering hair band and jewellery. She frowned at the memory, and a second later the gown disappeared and she was back in the green one.

"Won't it get awfully dirty and worn after a while?" She looked sceptically at the pristine white sleeves, but instead of answering Jareth reach out a hand to grab a feather pen perched on the desk. With a quick deliberate flick of his hand, he waved it at her like a wand, and as a result, several drops of blue-black ink flew at her and stained the dress and one sleeve. She yelped and jumped back, but the damage was done and she threw him a furious look.

"Now, try to turn back to your owl form," Jareth said quickly, before she managed to say a word, and reluctantly, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the owl. In a moment, she felt the wings and claws back and opened her owl eyes to stare accusingly up at him.

"And then come back to being yourself." He remained completely calm, and Sarah felt herself relax a bit. She focused again and was back to human shape in no time. She turned to look in the mirror, and though she had guessed what he was showing her, she was still impressed that all traces of the ink stain was gone.

"Very handy," she admitted grudgingly and stroked the dress.

"It will work on dirt, water – even if you cut your hair, it will grow back," Jareth lectured and leaned back in the chair. "However, it will not help you if you are injured for any reason. There are limits, and a cut or a scratch will have to heal on its own. Or be healed by me."

"We can only heal each other and not ourselves?" Sarah asked puzzled. "That doesn't make sense."

Jareth shook his head. "You can't heal, that is one of my powers. The King's magic."

"The King's magic? You mean we are not the same?" Sarah scowled and crossed her arms. "Didn't you promise me magic and powers?"

Jareth laughed and conjured a crystal that he let float in the air like a soap bubble a few seconds before it burst. "You do have magic and powers, my dear, once you learn to use them. You'll be able to change shapes, just as well as I. But some things are just meant for the King – like the crystals and healing."

She kept staring at him, and he conjured up another, seemingly only to show off, she thought.

"The crystals are a visible link to the Labyrinth's powers, which I need to rule," he explained. "And the healing is most convenient when dealing with careless goblins."

"So, what can you do that I can't…" She squinted her eyes and counted aloud. "Crystals, teleporting yourself and others, going to the Above world to abduct children…"

"You mean 'generously granting wishes for children to be taken away'," Jareth countered smoothly.

Sarah ignored him and continued: "…reorder time, create illusions and dream worlds to make sure things are not always as they seem… Did I miss anything?"

"Sensitivity and empathy concerning the Labyrinth's creatures, perhaps, but really there are only two kinds of magic, as far as I have found. All the ones you just mentioned are part of the Labyrinth's magic. The part that is not, is our ability to change shape and live if not forever, then at least far longer than mortals."

"And that is the kind I have?" Sarah sighed.

"That we both have, yes." Jareth rose from the chair and beckoned for her to follow as he went to the staircase. "Come, I'm forgetting my manners, let me escort you to your room."

After descending a long winded staircase and two smaller doors, Sarah found herself in a familiar corridor next to the door to the room she had slept in the first night.

"The castle is really not much more than an extension of the Labyrinth," Jareth explained as he went in. "There are very few rooms and an insane amount of corridors and doors. I hope you'll be satisfied with this room, because there really isn't anywhere else available."

"In a castle of this size?" Sarah said sceptically and glanced around.

"I couldn't believe it at first either. There are these two suites, the throne room, the entrance hall, a kitchen and… well, that's about it. But then again, I don't really need much more than that, do I? It's not like I ever have any guests." His voice was tinged with bitterness at the last words.

"So this is not a guest room?"

"I use it for the wished-away children to stay until they are transformed. And I slept here in the week I was training under the previous Goblin King."

That at least explained the dust everywhere and the covered crib, but it also sounded really depressing… and lonely.

"If you never have guests…" she started and bit her lower lip. "Are you all alone? Will we really be all alone here all the time?"

He ran a hand through his hair and went to stand near the multi-coloured window.

"For more than 350 years, I have not spent more than a few minutes in conversation with anyone," he said tonelessly. "I explain rules to the mortal Questers and occasionally taunt them and reply when they plead with me, but like you did, they mostly see me as just a villain and not as a person. The goblins say 'yes, Your Majesty' and 'no, your Majesty' and 'thank you, Your Majesty', and the Guardians rarely come back to the castle after their transformations, but roam the Labyrinth instead. There is no one like me, Sarah… until now."

Sarah knew she was pushing it, but had to ask: "Why me? Why now? After all these years?"


	11. A Line of Kings

"Why now…?" Jareth hesitated a moment. "It was either that, or giving up and making a new king. I simply couldn't take this… emptiness anymore." He turned to look at her. "I have researched the lives of the previous kings and I am the oldest king to ever rule the Labyrinth. The others lasted 50 years, 100 years, a few even past the 200 years, before they gave up the throne to the next one and left the Labyrinth. I have lasted almost twice as long and it's wearing me down."

"But why then not do as all the others did? Make a new king and go… somewhere else?"

He shook his head and made a crystal, playing absentmindedly with it in his hand for a moment, rolling it back and forth across his palm. "I have not dared," he confessed at last. "My research showed that every other King of the Goblins have been more like a Despot or Tyrant of the Goblins. There are signs and records of casual beatings, of maiming the goblins for fun, of all kind of horrible things befalling them with the Kings either participating or giving intruders free reign to do whatever they wanted. I couldn't leave my goblins to such a fate, just because I'm bored!"

The last two words were said in a contemptuous tone, and he looked away again, frowning. "Maybe I should show you. I took up recording the events very early in my reign by speaking to the older guardians and reviewing notes and drawings made by the previous kings and I've collected rather a large journey with various types of entries. Mostly about Cederick, the king before me, but also snippets of information about the ones before him."

He looked at the crystal in his hand, and immediately it turned into a large hand bound book with a red leather cover. He gestured to her, and she went across the room to take it, surprised by the heavy weight. Carefully placing it on the broad window sill by the light, she opened it gently and leafed through a few of the pages. The writing was spindly, with narrow letters, but after a moment of adjustment, she realized she could read it – if not effortlessly – then at least when she concentrated. There were pictures in it as well, sketches of goblins, of strange creatures and of various constructions and buildings.

"See here," Jareth said right next to her ear, and Sarah started in surprise at his closeness. He had moved over to stand right behind her, almost but not quite touching her, leaning over her and then stretching out an arm to point at something in the book. She wasn't really intimidated by him anymore, but his presence was strong and the magic inside her seemed to react to his magic, so there was a kind of an electric current between them, when he was this close. It was rather fascinating, actually, and she wondered if she would feel it any differently if they were to physically touch each other now that she was transformed and a creature of the Labyrinth. This close and with her heightened senses, she could see the magic in the fairy dust streaks on his face – it wasn't make-up as it had looked like, when she ran the Labyrinth the first time – she suspected it was some kind of visual representation of the power of his magic. She moved a hand and almost lifted it to touch the markings, but then he turned his head and caught her stare with his eyes, and the amused smile on his face quickly brought her back to reality. She rolled her eyes and looked down to where he was pointing in the book.

"This is some of the drawings I've made of shapes that the guardians and goblins have told me they have seen previous kings use," Jareth said slowly, but in a strange hoarse voice. "It's been very… inspirational."

He turned away suddenly and left her by the window, while he went across the room to the bed and put some distance between them. Sarah turned a few more pages, but had trouble concentrating on a book right now.

"So you do talk to the guardians?" she asked to break the silence. "It's not just the two of us alone here?"

Jareth cringed. "Well, they don't come here much anymore… I might have used the threat of the Bog a bit too casually in the past…"

"Hoggle said many of them were afraid of you." Sarah slowly sat down on the window sill and tried to grasp what he was saying. Him and her, the two of them only and no one else.

"Can't you just leave and let the goblins take care of themselves?" she asked hesitatingly, but he shook his head.

"Even if I wanted to, I cannot leave this Labyrinth – I think I mentioned this before. I have the entire Labyrinth's power at my disposal as king, but that also means I have to stay within its boundaries, except for when I go Above to collect a child. But I wouldn't leave the goblins anyway – they are in many respects like the children they once were and I have to take care of them."

"But… _I_ could leave, then?" Sarah blurted out, before she realized how rude it sounded, and Jareth scowled at her.

"Yes, my dear, you could," he growled. "Not for the Above – you can never go back to your old life, but you could go beyond the Labyrinth's borders to the unknown beyond."

He narrowed his eyes and looked at her with an unreadable gaze, before his lips curled into a sly smile. He pushed away from the bed and advanced upon her, his black cape curling behind him and with every move as smooth and graceful as a predator. She frowned and stood, not wanting to give him the advantage of towering above her.

"But we have a truce now, so you wouldn't leave, would you, my dear?" he said and stopped right before her, almost too close. His eyes were flashing and his smile broadened.

"You had better remember the truce," she countered and poked him sternly in the chest, and he threw back his head and laughed.

"The truce says only I won't force you to do anything, remember? Maybe I should work on how to make you want to stay…" He lifted a gloved hand and stroked back a strand of her dark hair, tucking it behind her ear in an oddly caressing gesture. The touch made the magic in them react and spark even more than before, as she had suspected, even if it was probably dampened by his covered hands. Her smile faltered, as she tried to analyse the feelings, and so did his.

"Shall I _make_ you fall in love with me, Sarah?" he asked in a deep mesmerizing voice and his mismatched eyes held hers in a burning gaze that sent chills down her spine and made her speechless for a moment. His hand moved down and traced her chin, until it came to rest lightly on her shoulder, sending further magic sparks through her, so she almost thought she could see them.

"Jareth..., please don't," she whispered. She wasn't afraid of him or angry anymore, but she had no desire to reject him again or start another fight, and she felt uneasy with this weird magic connection between them. He nodded lightly and as he let go, he conjured up another crystal ball and held it out to her.

"Take this," he said, and when she eyed him sceptically, he shook his head in exasperation. "It's not a trap – it's a guiding crystal. Put it on the floor and ask to be taken anywhere or to anyone in the Labyrinth, and it will roll before you and show you the fastest way. It should help you find your way around in the beginning."

"Thank you," she smiled, relieved that the tension had disappeared, and took the crystal which felt warm and almost alive under her touch. He nodded slightly and then went quickly to the door.

"I'll let you get settled – when you're ready to start training for real, just come and find me." And then he was gone.


	12. Settling in

_Hi everyone. Almost done with this story now - I'm writing on the last chapter, so it will probably end up being 26 chapters long, once I've proofread and edited it all. Right now I'm trying to decide how much of an M-rating I want - what do you think? Any preferences? :)_

_ Kaytori: No family in this story - sorry :) As for manipulating the castle, I don't think he's ever thought about it. He can cast illusions on the existing rooms (like making the throne room into a populated ball room), so maybe the need never arose. A love spell...? No, I think he meant using his own irresistible goblin king charm - he IS pretty full of himself, isn't he? :D_

* * *

"I think we need a break," the Goblin King said tiredly and dragged a hand though his already unruly hair. "You've made progress, but we're not really improving today anymore."

Sarah threw a frustrated look at the drawing before her and agreed. "Alright, we'll stop for now. Would you like some tea, if I make some?"

Jareth shook his head, but gestured for her to go on anyway, and then he disappeared in a wink. Sarah rolled her eyes at his always dramatic exit, and then got up and started down towards the kitchen to make herself some tea. She knew from experience that it was impossible to know when Jareth would be back – it could be five minutes or five hours - so she might as well make the most of her break from the rigorous training.

Sarah had been living at the Castle beyond the Goblin City for almost two weeks now and it was getting familiar so she could find her way around easily in the labyrinth hallways, even without the aid of the magic crystal. Her favourite spot was the small garden she had found before her transformation, but the kitchen was agreeable as well – at least after she had cleaned it up and forbidden the goblins to ever set foot it in again. Now it was her domain so she could keep it spotless and make the few things she needed. Jareth had been right – after the transformation, she had needed very little food, and since she was already in the habit of not eating much, she mostly made teas in different flavours with leaves that the goblins and Hoggle brought her from all over the Labyrinth. Not all of them were safe to consume, but with the aid of her heightened senses she had no problems recognizing and dismissing the dangerous ones. Occasionally, she would make a meal for her and Jareth – fish or chicken with complicated sauces and unfamiliar spices – but he ate even less than her and she did it only for entertainment and familiarity.

Hoggle was there in the kitchen, sitting in his favourite chair by the fireplace. With the goblins banned and Jareth never bothering to come down, this was where they often met, and Sarah would share her thought and plans with him. She was not going to settle for having only Jareth in her life, talking only to him - she wanted to open up the castle for the guardians as well, as many as possible. If creatures as different as Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus could become her friends, there must be others out there, who she could get to know in time. She had asked Hoggle about Ludo and Sir Didymus, but he said Ludo had left the Labyrinth some time ago to return to the Wilderness beyond, and the little knight was on a quest for Jareth in the furthest end of the Labyrinth and would not be back for another month. So right now it was just the two of them.

Hoggle looked up as she entered. "Oh, there ye are," he greeted her and pointed to the boiling kettle of water already on the fireplace. "Thought ye'd be here about now, so I set up so ye could make the tea."

"Thanks, Hoggle," she said and found the pot and leaves, before she joined him at the table. "You're a life-saviour."

The dwarf huffed and averted his eyes. "Just looking after me little girl, aye? How are ye today?"

"I'm still hopeless at visualizing clothes," she said and made a face, thinking about today's training. "We are still only working on a simple cloak, but I can't get it right – it keeps falling apart the moment after it has been created. And today, it ended up bright yellow!"

She and Jareth were working on her shape-shifter abilities, and his first task to her had been to develop her owl form and be more aware and precise when making the change. Her owl had improved much – better wings, sharper eyes and a more even silver-grey colour. Last week he had declared himself reasonably satisfied with it, and they had proceeded on to human shapes – her first task to just remain in her green dress, but to add a floor-length black cloak to it. But the cape had yet to be black or floor-length… or even stay more than a few seconds – she just couldn't get it right.

"It'll come, Sarah," Hoggle said and patted her hand. "If he can learn, then surely ye can, too."

Sarah told herself the same thing every day, but it was still frustrating to watch him perform it all so easily and then struggling so much to control the power within her. Hoggle got up to get the boiling water from the fireplace and pour it into the pot. The sweet scent of chamomile and dried apples filled the air, and Sarah leaned back and tried to relax.

"Hoggle, I don't know what to think about Jareth," she confessed and looked into the fire. "He confuses me."

"Mmm?"

"He's actually respecting my wishes and treats me as an equal most of the time." Sarah took a cup of tea and blew on it to cool it down. "He's still arrogant and cocky and too full of himself, but he seems to be content with just being my friend."

"For now, Sarah," Hoggle warned darkly. "He wanted ye as his wife, and what Jareth wants, Jareth gets. Never forget that."

Sarah frowned. Maybe she shouldn't have told Hoggle all about what had happened between her and Jareth in the throne room. The dwarf seemed unable to forget it for a single moment and when he had been forced to speak to Jareth since, he did so in an angry and rebuffing way. Jareth seemed not to notice, but Sarah did and was concerned about causing the added tension between them, especially when she wanted the guardians to come to the castle more often and not hate or fear Jareth.

"Hoggle," she tried and sipped her tea, "be nice - we're stuck here together for all foreseeable future. Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance? I won't be marrying him, but I do think he needs a friend."

"Don't say I didn't warn ye," the dwarf countered and huffed as he got up. "Gotta go, those fairies don't get cleaned up by themselves, now do they?"

"Are you still after the fairies, Hoggle? What did they ever do to you?"

He frowned at patted the large bundle of fake jewellery at his belt. "They steal me precious things, that's what they do. Nasty little buggers. Just yesterday another piece went missing. I'm sure it's them. They have an eye for shiny stuff, they do."

After Hoggle left, Sarah refilled her mug and brought it with her as she walked through the silent castle corridors towards her room. Just outside the kitchen door, something sparkly on the ground caught her eyes, and when she bent to investigate, she found one of Hoggle's bracelets there. So much for fairies stealing his things, she mused and put the bracelet in her pocket, so she could give it back to him later.

Sarah didn't use her room much, as her need for sleep had also greatly diminished, but she liked to go there to read and practise the shape-shifting in privacy. Today, she went to the large mirror near the fireplace and looked at herself carefully. During the training, she had brushed too close to a fireplace and the white shirt under the green dress had a dark dirty mark on it. She smiled at the opportunity for more practise, and as she concentrated for a moment and gathered her magic, the mark disappeared seconds later, and the sleeve looked clean and fresh again. Another small measure of progress - she no longer needed to transform into something else first as in the beginning in order to brush up her appearance.

As convenient as it was, it was also the hardest part of her transformation to accept – that she would look like this always. She hadn't had a bath in a week or brushed her hair even once, but in the mirror, she could see her hair was still shiny and clean, and she knew she smelled fresh and flowery and just a bit of magic. She was getting tired of seeing herself in the same green dress every day and took it off in the evenings, but when she awoke after a few hours' sleep, she would always find herself wearing it again. It was maddening to think about.

A loud rap on the door interrupted her thoughts and Jareth looked in through the open door.

"Sarah, I'm going out in the Labyrinth for my daily flight." He let his gaze stray over her and the mirror and lifted an eyebrow. "I thought it might be good for you to practise your owl on a longer trip – unless you would rather stay here…?"

She blushed and shook her head, embarrassed at being caught in front of a mirror like a school girl – again! "No, I'd love to join you. Where are we going, then?"

Twenty minutes later, they were flying side by side over a maze of hedges. Jareth had started them out at a slow pace, but soon increased his speed, and Sarah was concentrating intensely on following him and trying to match the beat of his wings. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the light breeze only made the air more manageable, so flying became easier. She was almost sad when Jareth descended and flew in circles down to a fountain surrounded by more hedges, but then she noticed the a small crying goblin huddled in a bundle next to it.

"Yara, are you lost again?" Jareth said after transforming into his casual white shirt and blue breeches. He didn't sound angry or mocking – his voice was kind and overbearing. "I thought I told you to stay near the castle?"

The goblin nodded and looked up at him with big yellow eyes. "Yara sorry, Your Majesty. Yara follow a chicken here, but chicken go 'way."

"Yes, right," he said and shook his head. Then he conjured a crystal ball and held it up. "C'mon – catch!"

The moment the little goblin touched the crystal, she disappeared without a trace, and Sarah changed into herself to be able to speak. "Where did you send her? Not an oubliette, I hope?"

Jareth frowned at her. "You think I would do that? To one of my goblin subjects?"

"Well, maybe not," Sarah admitted and gave him a tentative smile. "Though you did send me there…"

"She is safely home in the goblin city," Jareth sighed, "just like last week and the week before that. I round her up quite often on my trips – she is forever getting lost." He transformed back to an owl and took off, and Sarah hurriedly did the same in order to keep up with him. They couldn't speak as owls, but Sarah could sense from the way he beat his wings and curled his talons that he was upset with her, and she promised herself she would apologize the next time they landed.

She never got the chance, though, as he wouldn't have been able to hear it anyway. A group of fierys were screaming at the top of their lungs due to a big lumbering creature that looked like a troll stealing their heads. Jareth swooped down and quickly stopped it by grabbing the net with the heads back and then sending yet another crystal at the troll, which vanished instantly. The fierys whooped in joys and went to collect their heads, and Jareth looked up at Sarah, who had not even had time to land.

"This one went to an oubliette, my dear," he said coldly and then took off again.

Stop after stop, Jareth went down in the Labyrinth and handled all kinds of smaller and larger emergencies. Goblins, who had fallen down from a tree and were hurt, a Sphinx who had broken a wing, a StoneFace who's mortar was crumbling and needed repair and yet another lost little goblin. Sarah seldom had time to transfer to human state before he was off again, and at the end she was falling behind, struggling to keep up with him. Finally she gave up and landed in a forest clearing, where she instantly went human and sat down in the long soft grass, stretching her arms and legs to get the owl-feeling out of them.

"I just need a moment," she said, when he landed beside her and transformed as well. "Just let me rest for a little bit."

"But of course." He sat down on a nearby rock and stared off in the distance.

Sarah opened her mouth to say something, when she was interrupted by an insistent tug on her skirt and saw one of the Labyrinth's small blond fairies pulling fiercely at the embroidered silver thread of her dress, which glinted brightly in the sunlight. She shook it off, but it still continued, and finally she had to hit it flat on with her hand, and it flew up to her and tingled angrily, baring its teeth at her, before it flew away to find someone else to bother. She turned back to the Goblin King.

"Jareth, I'm sorry if I offended you," Sarah wanted to wipe the cold look off his face. "I wasn't thinking – of course you are not sending the goblins to the oubliettes."

He nodded stiffly but still didn't look at her. She shook her head and tried again.

"All those goblins and guardians and this huge Labyrinth… How do you know who needs help – is it part of the Labyrinth magic?"

"It allows me to feel where I'm needed," Jareth confirmed. He hesitated a moment, before he turned towards her with a strange look on his face. "Sarah, I wanted to ask you…"

"_I wish the Goblin King would come and take you away – right now!_" The loud shrill voice echoed across the clearing, and Sarah jumped to her feet and looked around, but no one was there.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked, and Jareth nodded briskly as he rose as well and turned once on his heels, transforming in a second from his casual wear to a dark foreboding Goblin King outfit with a long black and silver cape and a spiked collar.

"Excuse me," he said and faded out, disappearing in front of her eyes, before she could ask any more questions, and Sarah envied him, not for the first time, his ability to teleport as she eyed the distance to the Castle which she would now have to manage on her own. Well, at least she had wings this time.


	13. Wished Away

_Thanks for all the reviews. Still struggling with the last chapter, but it'll sort itself out, I suppose._

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Sarah reached the castle half an hour later and went to the throne room immediately to see if she could find Jareth. He was there pacing restlessly in a mob of laughing and yelling goblins that made an infernal noise, and he was carrying a small grey bundle which seems to give off an even louder noise, two little arms waving frantically in the air.

"Jareth," she shouted and ran to him, and he turned around with a look of relief on his face.

"Ah, Sarah, just the person I was waiting for," he said – loudly to be heard over the baby's wails. He trust the baby at her, and she grabbed it instinctively and supported the little head, and the child silenced for a moment and looked up at her as if to see who was holding it now.

"Now that you are here, please take care of it for me," Jareth continued and brushed off his clothes. His eyes narrowed into a cold hard stare, but the anger was not directed at her. "I have… business to attend to with that one's babysitter! Like making sure she doesn't get out of the Labyrinth alive!"

And with those words he vanished, and the baby started wailing again. Sarah looked after him in shock and then helplessly down at the baby for a moment, but she had had years of experience taking care of Toby, so this baby didn't feel much different, except that she had almost forgotten Toby had ever been this small. She cuddled the child closer and headed off for the kitchen to get away from the annoying goblins and their infernal racket.

Hoggle was still there and jumped to his feet when he saw her enter with the baby.

"I heard the calling," he greeted her, "do ye need any help with the wee one?"

The baby in her arms was still screaming and trying to wiggle out of the blankets, so she gently laid it on the table to see if it was just scared or perhaps hurt. When she opened the blanket, she felt pity and anger mingling and suddenly didn't care quite so much about what Jareth was doing to the child's babysitter. The baby was clad only in a soggy half-torn diaper that was leaking up its back and down on the legs, and here and there were old bruises on the scrawny body. It could not be more than three months old, though Sarah remembered Toby at that age, and this child's thin malnourished frame had little resemblance to her chubby baby brother.

"Hoggle, we need to get the child clean and warm first of all. Can you take that big bowl over there and pour some of the warm water into it? Yes, and then you fill up with cold water until the temperature is nice."

Sarah undressed the baby – a boy, she noticed - while Hoggle prepared the bath, and then she eased the screaming child into the water and gently washed him with a soft cloth. The baby grew quiet when the water enclosed it, and he closed his eyes in exhaustion and let Sarah handle him without struggling. By the time Sarah had gotten him all clean, his breathing was light and even and she could see he was almost asleep. Hoggle brought a clean blanket and some more cloth she could use as a make-shift diaper, and Sarah carefully wrapped the baby again and sat down near the fireplace, humming a little tune and rocking the child fully to sleep.

"Hoggle," she said in a low voice, so she wouldn't disturb the child, "Jareth threatened to kill this little one's Quester – he didn't mean it, did he?"

The dwarf shrugged and looked away. "He might or might not. Usually he doesn't kill anyone – they just make a mistake in the Labyrinth that means their death. Like falling into an oubliette or drowning or bothering the wrong creatures."

"But that's horrible!" she whispered angrily. "What if they really regret it and love the child… and just want to get their little brother back… like me?"

"Sarah, look at the child," Hoggle cautioned. "That is not yer wee brother and that wish was not a foolish teenage girl's ranting. Someone has been neglecting this child all its short life. And this is not the worst I've seen – Jareth has retrieved children in such a bad state that they wouldn't even survive the 13 hours."

Sarah looked at him horrified. "You mean – the parents have hurt them before they call on the goblins?"

"The parents. Or a sibling or some other relative. Fortunately, those are the cases where the guardian is least likely to want to run the Labyrinth, so Jareth simply speeds up the Labyrinth's time around the child, and once the Labyrinth embraces it, it is healed and happy again."

"But then it's a goblin," Sarah said with a frown. "Is there really no way he could return it to the world above, so it could remain human?"

"Sarah, me friend," Hoggle shook his head. "Look around ye. Do ye think the goblins are unhappy creatures? Simple creatures, yes, with simple needs – but down here they are safe. Jareth might be scary to cowards like me, but he does take care of us all and protects us."

"'From dangers untold and hardships unnumbered'," Sarah murmured. The goblins did seem like a happy bunch of children. No real responsibilities, the same magic enhancements as her and Jareth, so they needed very little food and shelter, and in the time she had been here, she had seen them throw messy parties every other day, where they were dancing and singing and playing happy music. At one time, Jareth had joined them, and she had watched in amazement, as he smiled more freely in those few moments to the goblins than in all the time she had been together with him.

"I wonder why someone is even questing for this baby," Hoggle remarked and brought two mugs of tea to the table before joining her there.

"Jareth said something about a babysitter," Sarah offered and carefully rearranged the sleeping baby in her arms, so she could reach the mug without risking spilling on him.

Hoggle grunted and nodded. "A case of bad conscience, then. Or fear of having to explain to the parents afterwards – which means she's really dim-witted and doesn't understand that the King will remove all memories of the child in the Above."

"So no one will remember…" Sarah suddenly thought about her own situation as she sipped the hot tea. "I left a note, when I went with Jareth. Will they remember me at home – my father, Toby? Does it make a difference that I called him myself?"

"Hmmm, I really don't know," he replied after a pause. "Maybe. Depends on what Jareth did – ye'd better ask him sometime. Do ye want me to take that baby somewhere to sleep?"

Sarah noticed the deliberate change of subject and knew from the past weeks that Hoggle did not want to discuss her previous life and the night she was taken to the Underground. She thought he might still feel guilty about arranging the arrest, even though she had assured him several times that she understood why he did it and had forgiven him.

"The crib is still in my room," she said and stood up, and Hoggle came over and reached for the child.

"Let me help ye," he offered and took the little bundle from her with a gentleness and expertise that surprised her. "I'll stay with him while he sleeps and then we can warm a bottle afterwards - the goblins brought a few from the house where Jareth picked him up. They generally do - we don't have anything down here suitable for small human children and he obviously can't eat what the goblins feed their young ones...! Why don't ye fly out and see if Jareth wants an audience? He usually does!"

The last comment was muttered under his breath, but Sarah heard and smiled wryly.

"Ok, I'll see if I can find him – I'll be back soon."

Sarah had noticed dark clouds and a slight drop in the temperature as she flew back earlier, but the weather that met her when she came outside, was unlike anything she had seen before in the Underground. Every other day, it had been, if not sunny, then at least pleasantly warm and dry, but now heavy clouds completely covered the sky, the wind was chilly and thunder rumbled in the distance. She frowned - it was unlikely to be a coincidence that this weather happened just now when a quester was in the Labyrinth – it had to be Jareth's doing. Or the Labyrinth's.

She took out the tracker crystal that she still carried with her always and placed it gently on the sandstone tiles.

"Find Jareth," she asked, and the crystal immediately started rolling off to the right at a quick pace. She scooped it up and secured it in her pocket, before transforming into and owl again and setting off in the direction it had shown. As she beat her wings to gain height, she winced inside at her sore wings – she had flown much further today already than any other day, and she could feel the strain. The cold and the stronger wind didn't help either, so she would not fly for more than ten minutes, she decided. If she hadn't found him by then, she would turn around and go back to the castle.

The weather got steadily worse and darker, and as the sandstone labyrinth beneath her changed into a swampy forest scenario with winding almost invisible paths, she almost decided the ten minutes were up. Suddenly, she spotted something on the ground. It was a goblin – running in her direction towards the castle. And another. And two more, all of them looking terrified. And then a group of fauns darted past and she heard a terrified human cry in the distance. She slowed her pace and peered cautiously around, and then as a glint of lightning illuminated the entire area, she suddenly saw what they had been running from and straight out forgot to flap her wings in shock and disbelief. She fell towards the ground, but managed to catch herself and land safely at the top of a tree, clutching the branch tightly with her sharp talons. She peered out from between the leaves to the clearing below, which was illuminated by some bushes that had caught fire, and in the flickering light, she saw it again and huddled down to make herself as small as possible in order not to be seen.

But it was too late. With a soft growl, the terrifying dragon in the clearing below lifted its pointy head and stared directly at the tree she was hiding in with menacing yellow reptile eyes.


	14. Fire

_Hi all, thanks for the reviews. You are very welcome to give critical feedback as well - all input appreciated :)_

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Sarah had seen many creatures in the Labyrinth, but never anything as frightening and yet magnificent as the dragon before her. It was as big as an elephant, but looked so graceful and fast that it was really an insult to compare it to a clumsy beast like that. Even in the dim light, the scales glittered in black and silver on its long sleek body and bat-like wings, and the long spiked tail was curled elegantly around it, the tip of it twitching slightly. She held her breath, but the dragon didn't move to attack, it simply glared in the direction her tree was in for a moment and then returned its attention to the bundle on the ground before it.

A woman lay there, almost motionless, with half her body emerged in the slimy swamp water. She was in her fifties, maybe early sixties, with greyish bobbed hair and a cheap dress, which might once have had a nice floral pattern, but was now caked in mud and in disarray. She was staring at the dragon in despair, darting looks behind her as to see if she could escape, but there was only more swamp water there. It must be the quester, Sarah realized – the woman responsible for the state of the infant sleeping soundly in her room back at the castle. If an owl could frown, Sarah's silver-grey owl would have scowled heavily, but there was also a twinge of regret in her heart – no matter what the woman had done, no one deserved to be eaten by a dragon. She looked around to see if Jareth was anywhere nearby – if the quester was here, surely he must be, too, but she couldn't see him.

The dragon opened its mouth and breathed a stream of fire at the trees next to the woman, and she screamed again and stumbled further backwards into the swamp, losing her footing and going under for a moment. When she appeared again, dripping in swamp water, she held out her hands in a pleading gesture.

"Please, don't hurt me," she wailed and sounded much younger and pitiful than Sarah expected. "Please, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. Please let me go."

The dragon growled and took another menacing step towards her, and its next breath of fire came even closer to her, although it was clear to Sarah that it was deliberately not hitting the woman full on. The woman whimpered again, but stayed upright this time.

"You can have the child," she said pleadingly, "…only, please don't hurt him. I know I didn't care for him the way I should, but he is a good little baby, so please take good care of him."

The dragon hesitated and the woman apparently took this as a good sign and fell to her knees.

"Please, just don't hurt little Joshua, I'm sorry I ever did, but please…" She broke down and sobbed uncontrollably, and suddenly the dragon snorted and took a step back, and a familiar crystal ball floated in the air before it and moved slowly towards the woman. She looked at it with recognition in her tear-streaked face, and then stumbled towards it to catch it, even daring to get closer to the dragon to do it, and a second later her fingers touched it, and she and the crystal disappeared in a flash of light.

The dragon stood perfectly still for a moment with only its tail twitching slightly, but then it growled in frustration and sent a breath of fire directly at the place where the woman had been. It turned a bit and breathed again, and suddenly Sarah found flames flickering underneath the tree she was hiding in. It was an old dry fir tree, and in moments, the flames had reached the lower branches and smoke billow up towards her. She flattened herself against the trunk and looked frantically around for a good way to fly out. She really didn't want to go out of hiding with the angry dragon just beneath her, especially since her wings were still sore, and she didn't feel she'd be able to fly very fast, but it was just as obvious that she couldn't stay much longer.

The dragon growled again and started pacing below, and Sarah felt torn and indecisive, but finally the smoke became so thick that she couldn't wait anymore, and she launched herself through the branches and out towards the direction of the Castle. But just as she cleared the last of the branches, something exploded just beneath her with a loud crack, and a searing pain shot through her wing. She screamed and when she looked at the wing, the feathers seemed to be on fire. She flapped frantically to put out the flame, but the uneven movement caused her to fall into a spin, and the ground raced towards her with a nauseating speed.

"Jareth!" she screamed and discovered she had accidently transformed back into her own form, and she shut her eyes tightly and waited for the ground to hit her, but instead she found herself caught in strong arms.

"I have you," she heard him say, just before she fell into darkness.

* * *

Sarah was vaguely aware of being carried, and of the strong scent of leather and magic around her. She felt warm and secure in Jareth's arms, but at the same time, her left arm and hand burned viciously and she couldn't hold back a whimper.

"Just a minute, Sarah," Jareth said gently and held her a little closer, and she gritted her teeth and kept her eyes shut. She felt him stride even faster, and moment later she was lowered down on a soft bed. "Here we are – let me see your arm now."

She didn't want to see it herself and turned her head away, trying to relax as he carefully extended her arm. It made the pain even worse and she choked a sob back, but a moment after, she felt the pain slowly subsiding, and she reluctantly opened her eyes a little and turned her head to watch him. Jareth was kneeling by her side with his bare hands suspended just above her arm - his ever-present gloves carelessly discarded on the floor. His hair was messy and his clothes in slight disarray, but it was nothing compared to the torn and burned sleeve of her own dress and the angry red swelling starting from her shoulder and ending at a horrifying red-blackened hand. She gasped and stiffened, and he glanced up for a moment before concentrating fully on her arm again.

"It will be all right," he said softly and moved his hands up and down the length of her injuries. "Just lie still and let me heal you – I'll make it as good as new."

"Can you really do that?" she whispered. "It looks awful."

"Trust me, Sarah." He continued, and she felt the pain fading further, until it was just a dull throbbing, but as he made no move to stop yet, she let her head fall back against the pillows and closed her eyes again.

"How did we get away from the dragon?" she asked after a moment. "Did you kill it?"

He didn't reply immediately, but just as she was about to ask again, he gave a deep sigh.

"Sarah, the dragon… I thought you realized that… I was the dragon."

"What?" She looked sharply at him, but his face was turned away towards her wounds and he didn't meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry you got burned by the fire – I didn't see you until it were too late."

"You can transform into a dragon?"

He nodded shortly. "It took years to make perfect, but it is a very useful form. I had hoped to scare her even more and I was furious that she gave up so easily. So I felt like burning something afterwards – I just hadn't realized the firs were so dry and flammable. Or that you were there."

"Hoggle said you'd like an audience," she said wearily. "But you couldn't have known – it was dark and cloudy."

"The Labyrinth picks up my mood," he explained. "When I sense so little regards for the child I take, the Labyrinth usually responds by reflecting my anger with dark skies, rain and storms to make the trials worse for the quester. She was very lucky today – I would have expected it to make short work of her."

"It? You mean the Labyrinth? Does it have a will of its own?"

Jareth smiled wryly, but shook his head. "No, it is merely very much attuned to me, and I was not in a forgiving mood today."

Sarah suddenly remembered the child and looked around for the crib in her room – and then she realized she was not in her own room, but in Jareth's – and on Jareth's bed. She was lying on a dark red velvet cover and red pillows were strewn casually at the edges. The bed had a funny shape as she had noticed before - not square or even round, but an angled D-shape that followed the lines of the wall to perfection. Set at uneven intervals were wooden carved pillars, towering up above her and supporting a black and silver drape that covered the back wall and part of the sides, obscuring the view of the staircase, she knew was there.

"Jareth, why did you take me here?" she asked and tried not to sound as uncomfortable as she felt. "You could have put me in my own bed."

"The baby is down there, isn't it?" he replied dryly. "I didn't want to wake it up if it was asleep – or have it disturb you if it wasn't."

Sarah couldn't deny his logic, but she still didn't feel very at ease being here. It was the first time she had been back in his room since that first day.

"Hoggle and the goblins will mind the child," Jareth continued. "Right now you need my attention more. I'm going to draw on your magic now as well – this might feel a little funny."

He gently lowered his hands until they touched her bare skin, and the contact sent a jolt of electricity through her, making her jump.

"Please, try to stay still," he cautioned and slowly moved his hands up and down her injured arm, and his hands left a burning track behind, so she could feel exactly where he had touched and where he had not, as if the magic in her answered the magic in him. She dared a quick look at the arm and to her relief, it already looked much better – it was still an angry red colour, but there were no open wounds anymore. She tried to relax, as he had asked, but his gentle healing touch unsettled her and she felt her entire body tingling with magic. But at the same time, she couldn't forget about the baby.

"What will happen to it now?" she murmured, although she knew the answer. "I mean, the Labyrinth will take it and transform it, but there are still some hours left. Hoggle said you could speed up time for it?"

"If needed, yes." Jareth shrugged. "As long as it is sleeping there is no hurry – and I assume it still is, since no one has come up and bothered us yet."

As if on cue, a high-pitched goblin voice called out from below. Jareth sighed, but as the call came again, this time more urgent, he removed his hands and stood. He picked up his gloves and pulled them back on, and for a moment Sarah glimpsed an ugly red cross-shaped scar on one of his palms before it was covered up by the black leather glove.

"I have to leave you for a moment, but I think the healing is well on the way – your own magic will sustain it now. Just stay there – I'll be back soon." He looked at her, frowning, and hesitated a moment, but then reached out and stroked her hair and chin gently with an oddly pained look in his mismatched eyes, sending another shiver through her.

"Sarah…" he whispered, and his tone sent a chill of surprise through her, but before she could form an answer, he turned and quickly disappeared behind the shimmering drapes, and she could hear his steps disappearing down the stairs.


	15. The Messenger

_Hi again. Thanks for all the reviews. Yes, Sarah should have realized the dragon was actually Jareth, but probably she wasn't thinking clearly at that time. The cliff-hangers are here to stay - it'll only get worse from now on... *evil smile*_

_I wrapped up chapter 26 at last and wanted to make an epilogue to close off the story, but while writing it I suddenly realized I was putting so much plot into it that it had turned into a sequel, not en epilogue. So now I'm cutting it down again and saving the story idea for later, in case I feel like making a sequal. I also have the outline of an original story waiting for me, so I'll have to see what I'm in the mood for when The Last King is done. :)_

_10 points to anyone who catches the literary reference in this next chapter (besides from Edgar Allan Poe ) ..._

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Sarah woke to a dark room and at first she didn't remember where she was at all. She blinked and sat up in the bed, but as the moonlight shone on the bed curtains and made them sparkle in iridescent silver tones, it all came back to her. She immediately looked at her left arm and hand, which was once again covered by the pristine white shirt sleeve, and when she carefully pushed it up, she saw only healthy unscarred skin below. It felt normal, too, and she moved it and flexed her fingers to test it. She must have fallen asleep waiting for Jareth to return, and she wondered whether he had been back to heal her or if her own magic had finished the task. Her magic had certainly been responsible for repairing her dress and shirt– it was whole and clean again in the place where it had been torn and burned.

A noise drew her attention, and she realized this was what had awakened her in the first place. A turkey-sized bird stood in the archway to the balcony and looked at her with large intelligent eyes. It had dark feathers and a large curved beak, resembling an overgrown raven, and when it saw she was awake, it hopped further into the room and towards her.

"What have we here?" it cawed in a high-pitched coarse voice and tilted its head as if to get a better look at her. "Pretty girl in King's bed? There was never a girl in King's bed, no, no. Neeee-ver."

Sarah wasn't sure what to make of the bird and backed away slowly against the wall, while keeping her eyes on it.

"I'm new to the castle," she said shortly. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Ohh, it talks!" The big raven flapped it wings and took a few steps closer, and Sarah's feeling of uneasiness grew. There was something wrong, something menacing about the bird, and she quickly looked around to see if there was anything within reach that could be used as a weapon, but nothing really looked useful.

"King's pretty girl, I'm sure," the bird continued and squawked as if laughing at her. "Good, good, you can give him message, then. Message for King."

"Yes, I'll take your message," Sarah quickly agreed and hoped it would go away afterwards.

"Good, tell him this, then." The black bird spread its wings and looked straight at her. "His plan has failed. The spy is captive and have not long to live. We will triumph. Long live Lord Cederick!"

It cawed again and flapped its wings menacingly and then it turned abruptly and threw itself into the air and out of the balcony doors. Sarah waited a second, but then jumped out of the bed and quickly slammed the doors shut and bolted them, so she was sure the bird couldn't return. Her heart beat rapidly, and she leaned against the closed doors while trying to calm down.

What spy, she thought, and what plan? It definitely didn't sound good, and after a moment, she pulled herself together and went to the stairs to find Jareth. Whatever it meant, it sounded like it was urgent.

Her own room was empty and so was the throne room, so in the end she pulled out the tracker crystal and let it guide her to him. It led her out of the castle and through a dark part of the Goblin City, but the sky was clear and the city well lit by the moon and torches on the walls, so she had no trouble following it through windy streets and up and down sandstone stairs. At last it rolled against a door to one of the small goblin dwellings, and she could see the house was lit within and the soft murmuring of voices. She hesitated only moment, but then raised her hand and knocked on the door. It swung open by itself, and inside, three goblins and Jareth turned their heads to look at her – the goblins surprised and Jareth with a slightly annoyed expression. The tallest of the goblins was carrying a goblin baby, swaddled in familiar grey blankets.

Everyone was silent for a moment, but then Sarah looked straight at Jareth.

"Jareth, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I really need to talk to you as soon as possible."

He arched an eyebrow. The goblins behind him snickered and the one with the baby clutched it a bit tighter and glared at her, as the baby started wiggling and making mewing little sounds. Sarah suddenly realized what was going on and felt slightly ill, but at the same time also curious.

"Is that… is that the wished-away baby? Joshua? Can I see, …please?"

"Him not Josha!" the goblin said and scowled at her. "Him MY baby now and I call him Plup! Was my father's name – very nice name!"

"Easy there," Jareth said and patted the goblin on the head. "Of course it is yours, the Lady just wanted to admire little… Plup." At the last word, his mouth twitched, as if he was fighting back a laugh, but he managed to keep a straight face.

"Yes," Sarah quickly reassured the goblin, "can I see the little darling?"

The goblin sniffed in distaste and reluctantly stepped forward to show off the child. Sarah didn't know what to expect, but when she peeled back the covers to look, two enormous golden eyes stared back at her beneath a wild mop of white-grey hair. The baby's skin was a light golden-grey colour, and large pointy ears completed the goblin look – and then the baby broke into a huge toothless smile and gurgled happily – pulling at one of the ears with a chubby hand and waving at her with the other. Sarah couldn't help smiling back – it was rather cute for a goblin and it definitely looked happy and healthy – not at all like the sickly baby she had tended earlier this morning.

"He is very charming." She smiled at the goblin and it looked slightly mollified. "You are a very lucky goblin to have him."

The goblin hesitated a moment, but then bobbed a short curtsy. "Thank you, M'Lady. And now I go – Plup needs to meet the other babies."

Jareth put a hand on Sara's shoulder and started to steer her out of the house. "Come on, Sarah, time to go as well. Goodbye, Tokka, Tas, Reva. Take good care of him, you hear me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," they all answered in unison, and then Jareth pushed her out and closed the door behind them. He continued to steer her away from the house without a word, until they were a good distance away and close to the Castle.

"Are you ok?" he asked at last and stopped to look at her, his uneven eyes meeting hers. His arm was still on her shoulder, and as if suddenly realizing this, he pulled it back sharply. "Your arm – it doesn't hurt anymore?"

"No, I'm fine," she said reassuringly, still thinking about the goblins they just left. "So this is what was going to happen to Toby? This is what you… the Labyrinth would have turned him into?"

Jareth looked at her speculatively and shook his head. "No, Sarah, he was never in any danger. Not with you to look out for him."

"What do you mean?" she asked with a frown. "You would have turned him into a creature like us, too?"

Jareth laughed. "Hardly! Whatever would I do with a baby? Even the goblins are more competent taking care of a baby than I am!"

Sarah glared at him, and he smiled wryly. "He was not in any danger, because you would have traded places with him if you had lost. I have seen so many children and so many questers, and when the love is that strong between them, the questers usually throw themselves at my feet and ask me to let the baby go and take them instead. That is what you would have done – is it not?"

She looked into his eyes and thought about it – and then nodded slowly. "Yes, I would have," she confirmed in a whisper.

"But never mind that," he said and snapped his fingers. "You had something to tell me, I believe? Isn't that why you interrupted me?"

Sarah couldn't believe she had forgot even for a moment, but quickly related all about the raven's visit, and as her story progressed, Jareth's expression turned first serious and then livid, as she repeated the bird's message.

"He grows bolder every day!" he hissed and started pacing back and forth, his hands clasped behind him. "And of course he's planning a trap – he knows I have to come to the rescue!"

"Jareth, what is going on?" Sarah asked startled. "Who are you taking about? Please tell me!"

He glanced at her and continued pacing, still with a deep frown on his face. "You've come at a difficult time in my reign, Sarah. It started three years ago, but has slowly been growing a bigger and bigger problem. 'Lord Cederick' as the raven talked about… is actually my old mentor, the previous Goblin King Cederick!"

"What?" Sarah said dumbfounded. "But that's impossible – isn't he dead long ago?"

"De-throned, yes, but certainly not dead," Jareth replied in a tone that made it clear he would have liked the truth otherwise. "He misses his power and rather than finding a life outside like all the other previous kings, he took advantage of a weakness in the Labyrinth and claimed a territory in the furthest end. He believes it is big enough for two kings and is slowly gathering followers."

"And it isn't big enough for both of you…?" Sarah asked mostly to herself, but Jareth spun around to stare disbelievingly at her.

"Sarah!" he sneered angrily and the fury in his voice made her take a step backwards. "This is not about power or glory or titles! Didn't you learn anything from the journal on past kings I showed you?"

He advanced upon her and held her gaze. "Cederick was the worst of them! Don't you realize what he would do of unspeakable things to the goblin child you just cooed over in there? And what he does already to goblins in the territories he claims as his?"

"I'm sorry, Jareth," she gasped and clasped her arms protectively in front of her. "I didn't think. Actually, I never made it to that part of the journal, so I didn't know. Of course he must be stopped."

His angry scowl softened a bit and he turned away and stared out over the Labyrinth. "Time is running short – trap or no trap – I must go. If there is any chance of saving my trusted spy and his little dog, I will take it."

Sarah felt a chill settle over her. No, surely he didn't mean…

"Jareth! Who did you send?" she whispered, and he flinched and turned back to her.

"I forgot you didn't know," he said gruffly and didn't meet her eyes. "But yes – it is your little knight friend. I'm sorry."


	16. The Last

_Hi and thanks for all the reviews. Just watced the movie again for the zillionth time yesterday and found that I have to revise some of the later scenes - somehow I imagined the throne room to be bigger and have a different layout. But nevermind, that should be easy to correct._

_ lemongirl: Thanks for catching the typo, have corrected now. I'm doing this without a Beta, so I guess I'm bound to make a mistake here and there._

* * *

Jareth had left more than an hour ago to "take care of the matter", and he had flatly refused to let her help him, but asked her to just stay here at the castle.

"It will be dangerous," he had said, "and I need to be able to think fast and fly fast. You can't help me this time."

She understood his reasoning, but it was infuriating to just be waiting here and not being able to do anything. Sarah was pacing up and down the kitchen when Hoggle entered, because she was too restless to sit down.

"Did you know?" she asked him immediately. "Did everyone but me know about Sir Didymus?"

The dwarf jumped at her attack and shook his head. "What do ye mean, me girl? What about Didymus?"

"That he's spying against Jareth's archenemy? Oh, Hoggle!" she suddenly sank down on a chair and stared despairingly at him. "He's been captured. Cederick is threatening to kill him!"

Hoggle scowled angrily. "Does the King know?"

"Yes of course – he's gone to rescue him, but I fear that it will be too late. Or that Cederick has planned something nasty and Jareth will get hurt as well."

"Jareth can take care of himself," Hoggle snorted and kicked at a basket on the floor in frustration. "That bastard – sending poor Didymus into such danger!"

Sarah looked at him in disbelief. "Hoggle, Jareth is not the enemy here, Cederick is."

"Cederick is _his_ enemy, not ours. Why doesn't he fight his own battles?!" Hoggle grumbled.

Sarah shook her head and hid her head in her hands. "Just stop it, Hoggle," she said wearily. "It is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. I don't suppose you can think of anything we can do to help them, can you?"

Hoggle shook his head. "Better not get involved, we might get in the way of the King. He does things his own way and is very hard to predict."

"This is maddening!" she whispered and suddenly jumped to her feet. "At least he reminded me about the journal – I had forgotten about that. I'm going to my room for the night to read about Cederick. I need to understand who he is. What he is."

* * *

It was close to dawn, but the sky was an ominous dark grey and the wind howled past the castle windows. Once again, the weather mirrored Jareth's emotions, Sarah reflected as she looked at it, and it was clear that whatever confrontation was taking place between him and Cederick, it was not over yet, if it had even started yet. She was sitting in her favourite spot by the window and considered her options, slightly ill from reading the notes in the journal. The old king was clearly a psychopath – a madman – there was really no other way to put it. She had read the recounting of tales from the older guardians and Jareth's description of some of the dungeons he had found during his first years as king, and just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. He had not spared anyone – goblins, guardians, quester – all had been subject to his cruel games. The thought that that man now was keeping Sir Didymus and Ambrosius captive, and probably doing all kinds of unspeakable things to them, was unbearable. But what could she do? She would be no match for Cederick if she went to help Jareth, and it would probably only distract him, if she showed up – and that was if she was even able to find them.

Which – actually – she might be able to do. Going through parts of the journal, she had found one very interesting little bit of information. Back in distant times, before Jareth and Cederick, a previous Goblin king had apparently experimented with making magic artefacts, and mirror in the king's room was such an artefact – a scrying glass. Jareth had mentioned being told about it in the notes, and he had used it in the beginning as a means to find and contact all the guardians in the Labyrinth. However, a later note in a more mature Jareth's handwriting had mentioned how much easier it was to use crystal magic and there was no further references to the mirror. But Sarah might be able to use it, she thought. It seemed to be a variant of her tracker crystal, where she would then be able to see the people she was looking for instead of actually being led to them.

She jumped up, eager to test it out, but then paused at the thought of going uninvited to Jareth's quarters. Now she thought of it, Jareth had never specifically forbidden her to enter his room – she had simply respected his privacy as she expected him to respect hers. But since he was away, and she had anyway just been carried there by himself, maybe Jareth wouldn't mind that she went up there to test the mirror. Hesitating only briefly, she turned left outside the door and climbed the stairs for the first time.

His room was gloomy with the fire almost burnt down in the fireplace, and it was too dark to see much. She went to the desk where several thick candles were evenly placed and took one of them to light it in the glowing embers, and then slowly carried it over to light the others to light up the area around the mirror. It looked completely ordinary – finely carved and polished, but completely normal. She paused for a moment and then spoke to it:

"I wish to see Jareth."

Nothing happened. She frowned and tried again, concentrating harder. "I wish I could see Jareth, wherever he is."

Still nothing happened. No flicker of light, no glowing green mist inside – nothing. Just her own reflection; the familiar green gown and dark hair and her eyes, larger and shinier than usual in the candlelight. She sighed and took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind and relax, and then she sat down on the floor in front of it and closed her eyes for a moment to focus. There had been no mentioning of what to do to make the mirror work, so she would just have to try whatever she could think of.

For the next half hour, Sarah did everything she could imagine to get the mirror to work, but without success. She started doubting that it actually was the mirror from the journal – maybe Jareth had replaced it since with a normal mirror or it had broken somehow. Her legs cramped up and aching, she rose stiffly and sat at the desk instead, glancing at the books scattered around. One in particular caught her interest – it was not printed as the others, but looked very much like the journal Jareth had lend her, and when she drew it closer and carefully opened it, page after page was filled with his neat spidery handwriting.

She read a few of the headlines and quickly realised that this was not about the Labyrinth as such, but more about the Goblin King's magic and duties. Interesting, but not what she was looking for. She almost closed it, when the word "Cederick" caught her eyes in a headline. She cringed at the thought of reading about any more of his atrocities, but then sighed and looked at it anyway. The headline was "Cederick's instructions on King's heirs" and it turned out to be a careful narration of how a Goblin King was made. Previous goblin kings had apparently passed this on as word of mouth, it said, but Jareth, a parson's son, was used to writing and books rather than remembering by heart, so he had documented it from Cederick's instructions to make sure the knowledge was not forgotten or misremembered. She read on, but halfway through, she paused. Something did not quite add up here.

"_To create a king, two steps must be taken. First, the new king must be turned from a mere mortal to a Labyrinth creature, perfect and pure. Secondly, the power must be given freely from the old king to the new. Only then can the old king be set free and be allowed to leave the Labyrinth._

_The turning must be done at the time when the Labyrinth claims the mortal as its own. The talisman necklace must be prepared and activated at the latest one full hour before that time, but beware – once activated by the King, the necklace cannot be returned to its previous state, and its magical powers will remain for only 13 hours. A King will only be able to activate the talisman necklace once and never again – beware to follow the instructions carefully."_

And then a long step by step description of how to activate the necklace was written underneath – steps involving goblin blood, hair from the king, lightning and a vast amount of incomprehensible crystal magic.

Sarah read the first part again – "once and never again" – and then she pushed the book away and stared at it in dawning shock, suddenly understanding exactly what had happened on the day of her transformation. He had had one chance in his life time to create a new king and get away from the Labyrinth – but he had used that chance on her instead. He had said he couldn't pass on the crown to someone else due to his fears of how they would treat the goblins, and that might be the case as well – but the reality was that the option was now lost to him forever. Even if he one day found the perfect heir, he would not be able to use the talisman necklace again, so because of her - Jareth would be the last King of the Goblins.


	17. Taken

_Hi again - thanks for all the reviews. I finally wrapped it up and finished - yay - ending on 26 chapters and an epilogue._

_ -nekochan: She is the only one who could be his heir, but that does not sem to be his plan, does it?_

_ -kaytori: I think we all want to hug Jareth... :-D_

* * *

Sarah wandered aimlessly through the Goblin City, lost in thoughts. How could Jareth have done this – what had compelled him to sacrifice his only chance of escape for her sake? And would he ever have told her the truth about it? She had carefully closed the book and put it back where she took it, blown out the candles and left his room, so he wouldn't know she had ever been there, but it had been hours ago, and there was still no sign of his return or a change in the weather. The castle had felt cramped and stuffy, so despite her promise to Jareth of staying there, she had left to get some fresh air.

"Lady Sarah," someone said right beside her in a tiny voice, and when she looked down, a small goblin was there with a fearful look in its eyes. "Lady Sarah, please come."

It tugged on her sleeve, and she followed willingly.

"Is there something I can help you with, little one?" she asked, but it just looked at her with pleading eyes and kept dragging her through street after street, until they were close to the gates.

"My brother," the goblin said and pointed out through the gate. "You help him, pretty lady? Yes?"

"Your brother is out there?" Sarah asked. "Lost perhaps?"

The little goblin nodded vigorously, and Sarah smiled kindly at it, happy that she could help Jareth here, when he was busy with Cederick. She strode out through the gates, but suddenly something was thrown over her head and before she could scream or transform, a blinding pain exploded in the back of her head and everything went dark.

* * *

She awoke to a darkness so black that even her sharper eyes could not penetrate it. She was lying on a cold and clammy stone floor, her clothes in disarray and her hair tangled all over her face, and when she slowly raised herself up on her arms, her head hurt so badly that she thought she was going to throw up or faint again. She quickly lay down again, but the throbbing in her head persisted, and she lost consciousness again.

* * *

The next time she awoke, she opened her eyes to stare directly into a black beady eye and a dark beak very close to her face, and she gasped in fear and surprise and quickly sat up. Too quickly – the sharp pain lanced through her head and she whimpered and cringed, trying very hard not to pass out again.

"Pretty girl awake," someone cawed, and she recognized the overgrown raven that had brought them the message of sir Didymus's capture. Fear mingled with the pain – if the raven was here, she was surely in enemy territory.

"Yes, Bertram, I can see that," an old voice replied in an unpleasant tone, and she glanced up to see an ugly middle-aged man in dirt-brown medieval robes staring down at her. His thin brown hair hung limply around a wrinkled face, and his eyes and mouth was too small compared to his protruding hawk nose. He was seated near a fireplace in a comfortable chair, and when she looked around quickly, she could see that they were in some kind of semi-round chamber with heavy stone walls and crude windows. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in the presence of Cederick, and she tried furiously to manage her panic and think about what to do.

"So, girl," he sneered and poked at her with a long wooden staff, that was resting in his lap. "I can't just call you girl – what is your name?"

Sarah decided to try truth and flattery. "My name is Sarah, Lord Cederick, if you please," she replied in a tone that she hoped sounded frightened and obedient. He nodded and a cruel smile grazed his thin lips.

"Good, good, Jareth has taught you your place, I see," he commented. "Tell me – what are you to Jareth? His mistress? His slave?"

"I am whatever he wants me to be," she whispered vaguely in a monotone voice and tried to sound like a brainwashed servant, so he wouldn't think her dangerous or clever enough to try to escape. Which is exactly what she intended to do the moment she got the chance.

"I can see that. Does he let you use your powers at all, I wonder?"

"Powers, my Lord? You mean, when I get to brush up and look pretty for him?" Sarah concentrated for a moment and restored her looks, so her tangled hair became soft waves again and her dress clean and fresh. It seemed safe enough to show him – he would hardly believe her, if she claimed to have no powers at all.

"Yeeessss," he hissed and his smile broadened and turned more malicious. "Jareth has good taste, I must give him that. But your presence here just shows that the power has gone to his head – why in the Underground's name would he choose to waste his chance of freedom on getting a permanent slave girl, when he could just satisfy his needs with the quester girls…?"

Sarah got the feeling he was talking more to himself than to her and that he was dismissing her as a creature of no higher value than the raven that was still watching them. Cederick rose and walked around her, studying her from all sides with a lechery look.

"You remind me how much I miss those willing girls," he commented and leaned down to tug at her hair. She cried out and it intensified the blinding headache she still had from where someone had struck her. Playing the role of the vulnerable servant, she let the tears flow freely and touched the sore place tenderly – feeling no blood, but a big sore bump.

"Please, my Lord, may I rest for a while?" she pleaded in a meek subservient voice. "My head hurts so badly…"

He shrugged and waved her away. "There are some blankets over in the corner where the weredogs usually lie – you can take that spot. I'll have plenty of time to play with you later – you'll be much more fun, if you don't pass out during our… intimate moments. I like my girls alive and…kicking."

Sarah knew exactly what he meant and was petrified with terror that she wouldn't be able to get away before he attempted to force himself on her, so she scampered across the floor to the corner he had indicated and pressed herself into the corner, making herself as small as possible. She could hear him give a short contemptuous laugh, but then he started talking to the bird instead.

"So, Bertram, what should I do with her – besides the obvious? Bargain her to Jareth for the ultimate power? Nahhh, no girl is worth that, not even to a whelp like Jareth. Kill her after I've had my fun, so his use of the talisman has been in vain? Or maybe just keep her here forever without him knowing, so he'll think she just left him? Either option seems rather delicious; I'm very pleased that you discovered her, my friend."

"Better than furry ones," the raven squawked. "Muuuch better."

"Yes, we could have had fun with the stupid little knight, but using him as decoy instead to steal her away was even better. It was a worthy bargain – any pain inflicted on her will hurt him much deeper."

"Caaww," the raven cried and she could hear the claws scraping the floor. "Kill her…fun! Bargain boring. Bargain unsafe."

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" A roll of thunder could be heard from somewhere outside, and the wizard laughed hard. "Much more fun, I think – can you hear Jareth's anger? Methinks the slave girl has been discovered missing…!"

Sarah heard footsteps nearing, and then Cederick was at her side with a thin rope. He grabbed at her wrists and then ankles and tied the rope tightly around them, so they bit into the flesh, and she whimpered again and pretended to lose consciousness, though she dared not give in to her growing dizziness for real and fought very hard not to faint again. Cederick's hands paused on her legs, and then he let one hand slide up her leg in a sickening and rude caress, exposing her bare legs, testing Sarah's acting skills to the utmost, as she wanted nothing more than to beat away his hands and scream at the top of her lungs. Another hand came to rest on her chest, grabbing one of her breasts roughly and kneading it painfully, and Sarah almost stopped breathing in fear and loathing.

"Yes, you'll do fine, once you're ready to be a bit more…lively," he murmured raucously and then with a final touch rose. "But just to make sure you don't have any further tricks learned from Jareth, I think you'll need this as well."

She felt him fumble for something for a moment, and then a string was dragged over her head, and something cold and heavy came to rest on her collarbone. Cederick moved away and she could hear his staff dragging across the floor.

"Bertram, come, let's go outside and watch the spectacle – I so enjoy bad weather these days. Then we can discuss how to use the girl against Jareth."

The door opened and then slammed behind them moments later, but Sarah waited several heartbeats before she dared open her eyes just the tiniest bit to check that they had gone. She tried to process the situation, but could only focus on that it was very bad – she was in big trouble. Her hands were tingling from lack of blood-circulation from the tight ropes and her head hurt worse than ever, but the panic from thinking about his hands on her and what he was going to do with her, if she didn't get away was even worse.

The room was empty and she could see through the dim windows that they were on a ground floor, not in a castle or tower. She tried to move, but the ropes just tightened around her and made her groan in pain. Then it struck her – her transformation skills of course. If she could just turn into an owl, the ropes would fall loose around her and she could perhaps get out through one of the windows. One of them was slightly ajar, giving her a view of the dark sky outside.

Sarah closed her eyes and gathered her magic focusing on transforming into her owl form, but the moment she tried to do the transformation, a blinding red-hot pain exploded near her collarbone and nearly made her scream out loud, and nothing happened. No transformation. She looked at the place, and saw that the string and cold metal she had felt Cederick slip over her was some kind of rough talisman on a raw-hide cord and it was glowing red. As she watched, the colour slowly faded and the metal turned cool again, but she could still feel the sting of where it had burned her. Her heart sank and she choked back a sob. It must be some kind of magic dampener or blocking device – no wonder he had dared leave her alone and unguarded in here. With her magic gone and tied up so she could hardly move, she was helpless and completely at his mercy.


	18. Escape

_Hi again, thanks for all the reviews. _

* * *

Sarah would not give up. Cederick could not have the satisfaction of besting her, she decided, and even if Jareth managed to bargain her from the old king, it would not be before she was broken and used – possibly not even alive. She had to escape before then and before he came back to claim her body. She shuddered – the mere thought of being touched and worse by that lecherous old man was unthinkable.

She moved her arms and legs, testing how much she was able to move, and though she had been tied up harshly with her hands behind her back, she could still wiggle around a bit. She tried to get the talisman off her head first, but she could not find any way to move her hands that far up, and she had no luck trying to scrape it off against the floor. She managed to reach the ties on her ankles with her hands, though in a very uncomfortable position, but the rope was very tightly bound and after several minutes of trying to undo the knots, she had to pause. Maybe she had something to cut the ropes, she thought, and considered the contents of her pockets, while she rested a moment, though she knew she was carrying very little. Some sketches of shapes she wanted to be able to do someday. A bracelet of Hoggle's, she'd never had time to return. And the tracker crystal.

Sarah was able to reach down and get the crystal out, and for a moment she considered whether it would be possible to break it so cleanly that the edges would be sharp enough to cut the ropes. But that would break the magic as well, and maybe it could be used in another way. She held it close and thought hard about what she needed. She couldn't call Jareth – it was unlikely Cederick had his hide-out anywhere near the castle and the speed of the crystal was not very great. It might take many hours for it to reach Jareth and then he had to find her afterwards. So she needed someone close by. It couldn't be someone or something that was intelligent enough to reason, for then they would be too afraid of Cederick to help her. But it still needed to be someone who was able to either cut or bite through the ropes, or who could take the talisman off her. Sarah thought of Hoggle's bracelet and remembered his words about the fairies being little thieves on the lookout for shiny things. The talisman was shiny.

She shook her head – no, that couldn't possibly work. But a minute after, when no other plan had come to mind, she decided to at least try.

"Tracker crystal," she started. "Find fairies and then come back here."

The crystal immediately rolled across the floor and then found a crack in the wall to roll through, so it disappeared from sight. She hoped the fairies would be interested enough in the shiny crystal to follow it back here, but it was really a long-shot. A plan B was probably in order, and she started on the ropes again, resting every other minute to spare her head and avoid getting nauseated and passing out.

Ten minutes later, the ropes were as tight as ever, but a little tinkling could be heard across the room. The crystal rolled back into sight, and following it with great swoops and dives were two small blond fairies who were trying in vain to lift it, even though it was clearly much too heavy for them. Sarah gasped – it had really worked. Now she just needed to get them interested in the talisman instead.

"Tracker crystal, come here," she called, and it rolled obediently back into her hands. The two fairies looked annoyed and made some angry tingling noises at her, but she smiled her most friendly and disarming smile at them.

"Hi, little ones," she called, "would you like my necklace instead? Pretty necklace! Sparkly necklace!" She moved a bit to make the talisman catch the light, and the two fairies came closer and buzzed around her, their tingling sounds more friendly. One of then flew down and looked closer and then tugged at the string around her head. The other one flew down as well, and a moment later they were involved in almost a fight to be the first one to get it off her. It wasn't easy, but after a lot of effort, one of them managed, and then flew out through the window with the other one chasing closely after and tingling furiously.

Sarah didn't waste a second, but immediately concentrated on turning into an owl again, and this time nothing stopped her. As she had guessed, the ropes fell loose about her, and she wiggled out of them and flew to the open window to peek out. The last thing she wanted was to fly right into Cederick's arms or be spotted by the raven. Outside was a dense gloomy forest, and the sky was filled with dark clouds. A rumbling of thunder could still be heard in the distance. She looked carefully left and right, and then flew the short distance from the window to the gnarled trees in the forest, where she quickly hid behind the foliage. Her head pounded furiously and she was almost dizzy flying just this little distance, but she knew she couldn't rest – she had to get far away before anyone noticed her absence. She hopped from branch to branch to the top of the tree, but when she was finally able to get her head above the leaves, the Labyrinth stretched around her in all directions, the visibility was poor due to the heavy clouds – even with her owl eyes - and there was no sign of the Castle anywhere. She realized she must be in the furthest end of it, and her heart sank at the thought of the long distance she would have to fly. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to think straight, and then she threw herself into the air and flew in the direction of where the clouds were darkest and where she could see a faint glimmer of lightning. If the thunder was Jareth's doing, that is where he must be.

Sarah flew for what seemed like hours, and she glanced nervously behind her every other moment to see if she was followed. Her speed was not very good, so if Cederick could sense which way she had taken, he would easily be able to catch up with her. Beneath her, the forest turned to desert and then to swamp as she passed different sections of the Labyrinth, and finally, she was able to see the towers of the castle in the far distance. Still very far away, but the sight alone gave her hope.

Just at that moment, she heard a screech behind her, and when she looked back, she saw a dark foreboding silhouette against the sky. It was flying straight at her with twice her speed, and even though she tried to fly faster, it still gained on her quickly. Soon after, she recognized it as Cederick's raven, Bertram, and she panicked, knowing that the raven would be sure to attack her, even if she turned back to human form. If owls could have cried, she would have, but instead she just beat her wings even faster, although it made her dizzy and close to fainting.

Too busy keeping track of the raven to look where she was going, she was suddenly startled when another bird flew down from above her and passed her close by – hooting angrily. A snowy white barn owl, which seemed to glow in the darkness. She recognized it instantly and let herself close her wings and fall towards the ground, making an awkward landing in the middle of a stony clearing between high Labyrinth walls. She turned quickly back to her human form and looked up, just in time to see the white owl lash out at the larger black raven, which squawked and shook its head dismissively. After a moment's hesitation, the raven turned around and flew back in the opposite direction and the barn owl spiralled downwards and landed just a short distance away from her. Immediately after touching the ground, the owl turned into the Goblin King in his glittering black and sinister outfit, and the look on his face made her take a step back in apprehension, despite her relief at seeing him.

Jareth strode towards her with the cape billowing behind him; his face contorted in fury and his magic almost visible as sparks around him.

"You dare defy me again?" he hissed. "You agreed not to run away, and this is the thanks I get for being nice to you?"

Sarah stumbled backwards and tried not to faint. He thought she'd run away and left of her own free will? "Jareth, no, it isn't what you think," she stammered, but he did not seem to hear her at all.

"Well, if you do not keep your promises, then neither will I," he snarled and closed the distance between them in seconds. He grabbed her roughly and then his lips were on hers – hard and demanding. She gasped in surprise, but then a storm of sensations consumed her as her magic flared up against his and sent a rush of scorching heat through her body. She arched against him and opened her mouth to give him access, and as she yielded to him, she could feel his grip loosening and becoming gentler, though he still held her tight. Every nerve in her body was on fire, and she clung to him as he explored her mouth hungrily, feeling lost, feeling something was missing, but unable to determine what. He pressed his hard muscular body against hers and backed her up against a wall, grinding his pelvis against hers, and she gasped in surprise, not only at his actions, but also at the fierce stab of pleasure that coursed through her. Then he moved a gloved hand upwards and accidentally grazed the large bruise on her head, and all the pain and dizziness slammed back with a vengeance. With a soft cry, she let the darkness claim her and felt him hold on to her as she fell.


	19. Reassurances

_Hi all, thanks for reviews and sorry for the late update - have been away on business travel._

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"I told ye she wouldn't run away, yer Majesty!" It was Hoggle and his voice was harsher than she had ever heard before.

"What was I supposed to think?" Jareth snapped and something – probably a crystal ball – splintered against the floor. "I go out there, find the knight and the dog perfectly safe and sound, despite her story of their imminent death at Cederick's hands, and when I come back she has vanished without a trace? I'm still not convinced she wasn't running."

Sarah opened her eyes and blinked against the light, before she raised herself slowly up on her elbows, noticing how much better she felt.

"Sarah!" Hoggle was at her side immediately and gave her a big hug. "Yer awake!"

She smiled weakly, taking in her surroundings. She was back in her own room and her own bed at the castle, and Jareth was standing rigidly by the window, staring out of it with his back towards her, now clad in his normal casual wear.

"I'm fine, Hoggle," she said and wished desperately that he would go away, so she could talk to Jareth privately and explain everything.

"Hoggle, I could really use some tea," she tried and innocently met his eyes. "If it is not too much to ask, could you go make me some, please?"

The dwarf jumped to his feet. "Of course, me girl, of course, should've thought of that meself! The cinnamon one?"

"Oh, yes, please." Sarah watched him disappear out of the door, and as soon as she was sure he was gone, she threw the covers aside and stood up. Jareth turned his head to look at her with a none-too-pleased expression on her face. She stepped towards him tentatively, but as soon as she got close, he spun away again.

"Thank you for healing me… again," she said in a soft voice and he nodded stiffly, but didn't reply. Sarah hesitated, vividly remembering his possessive angry kiss and his arms around her, and the crazy way her body had responded, and suddenly she felt a bit queasy inside. Then she remembered the book and his sacrifice, and it became even more important for her to get on good terms with him again. Determinedly, she went to sit in the window sill close to him and drew a deep breath.

"Jareth, I did not run away," she started and then in short sentences described what had happened – not her reading the book, but starting where the little goblin had asked her for help. When she got to the part where Cederick started grabbing her, her voice faltered a little, and she could see his hands clenching in anger.

"He did what?!" he hissed and whirled his head towards her, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"I was really afraid," she whispered, "but he said he wanted his women… alive and kicking, and I pretended to be so weak from the head wound that I wouldn't be… a good sport."

"So he didn't touch you?" Jareth pressed, and she shook her head.

"Not like that, at least. But he would have, if I hadn't escaped." She continued hurriedly with the rest of her story, and his eyes widened in disbelief as he listened to the far-fetched way she had gotten rid of the talisman.

"That must be the first time in the history of the Labyrinth that those pesky fairies have ever done anything useful."

"I'm so happy you found me when you did," she confessed and impulsively reached out to place her hand over his. The magic sparkled slightly like an electric current running through her, and he stiffened for a moment before he seemed to force himself to relax. She wondered if he felt the same when they touched.

"However did you find me – I have no idea where I was?"

"The tracker magic is an inherent part of the Labyrinth's magic – I would be able to find you anywhere," he said slowly. "Just like it was easy to find the knight and his dog. But Underground, I can only teleport to places I know well, so I had to find you by flying – I had been flying for at least an hour by the time I spotted you in the horizon."

"I'm so grateful," she repeated smiling, but then frowned. There were so many things she wanted to discuss with him, but they needed to be alone for that and they were running out of time. "Jareth, you and I need to talk – but Hoggle is coming back any moment now."

He hesitated only a second, but then rose and keeping her hand in his, slowly raised it and grazed it with his lips in an intimate, but respectful gesture. "I agree, we do. Come up to my room once you are finished explaining to the dwarf and have ensured him you're safe and sound. I have no doubt that will take a while, but I'll wait."

He vanished into thin air, leaving her alone, but then Sarah could hear shuffling footsteps outside and Hoggle came back into the room with a steaming mug in each hand. He looked around warily and relaxed visibly when he saw Jareth wasn't there.

"Good, good," he muttered and brought the tea over. "Are you sure you shouldn't still be in bed resting, me girl?"

It did take a while to get Hoggle calmed down and she had to retell the story – in an edited version that completely left out Jareth's reaction when he found her. Hoggle was furious with Cederick and very concerned for her future well-being, but he grudgingly agreed that she would be safe here at the castle.

"Jareth sees you as his property," he grumbled, "and he is very possessive!"

Sarah found it best to change the subject. "Hoggle, when I woke up, I heard Jareth say he found Sir Didymus and Ambrosius alive and well – is it true? Where are they?"

"Oh yes, that is the best news today!" The dwarf smiled briefly for the first time since she woke up. "They are already back at the Bog, Didymus was really home-sick after weeks of travelling. Jareth found them locked up in an oubliette close to Cederick's territory, tired and dusty and with no knowledge of what had happened to them in the past two days, and he brought them here to the Castle first to say hello to you. But when he got back, you weren't there and no one had seen you leave. The King jumped to conclusions and thought you had run away from us."

"I heard the thunder," Sarah whispered, "he must have been terribly upset!"

"Like a spoilt child," Hoggle wrinkled his brow and the angry look returned to his eyes. "He remembered to send Didymus home as promised, and then threw himself into the storm and took off after you. I'm glad he rescued you, but it was his fault to begin with that you were ever taken."

"Can we go visit Sir Didymus?" Sarah really wanted to see the little knight again, but Hoggle shook his head.

"I don't think it's safe right now," he said, "but maybe Jareth will take us later."

After finishing the tea, Sarah pretended to be very tired, and Hoggle shooed her into bed and told her sternly to make sure she got some rest. And she did – for about one minute after he closed the door behind him. A soon as she was sure he was gone again, she got out of bed and started towards the stairs – but then she paused in front of the door. Was she ready to confront him, she thought – how much should she tell him? Slowly, trying to find her courage, she went up the stairs, until she reached Jareth's tower room.

"Jareth? Are you here?" she called to the seemingly empty room.

"Out here, my dear," his voice called from outside, and when she went through the room and out the balcony doors, she was pleased to notice that she stepped out into the warm breeze and sunshine that she had come to consider normal for the Labyrinth. Apparently, his mood had improved drastically.

He sat on the bench where she had found him the first time right after her transformation. His white shirt was partly open, so the half-moon pendant around his neck gleamed and shone in the sunlight, and he was wearing his blue breeches and shiny black boots. The unruly hair had silvery highlights and his expression was thoughtful and severe. He looked… very royal and handsome, she thought, but vowed to never tell him – he was too full of himself already.

As she came closer, he stood and gestured for her to sit, before he took his place again.

"Sarah," he started in a carefully neutral voice before she could break the silence, "I will not apologize for not believing in you – it was an honest mistake. But I do apologize for… forcing my attentions upon you when I found you. It will not happen again."

Sarah's face heated at the memory and she wondered again about the electrical sparks between them. Suddenly not caring if he was going to laugh at her, she looked him straight in the eyes and reach out to take his hand. The moment they touched, the magic sparks flew between then, and he recoiled ever so slightly.

"You feel it too, Jareth, don't you?" Sarah held his gaze and peeled off his glove with her other hand, so they were touching skin against skin. The magic sparks went crazy. "This weird energy and magic spark between us - your magic intensifying mine and creating bursts of electricity?"

"You're playing with fire, Sarah," he warned in a rough voice, but took off the other glove, so both their bare hands were clasped together. "I have noticed from the beginning – ever since you were transformed - but I've tried to suppress it, so it wouldn't scare you. I've never seen anything like it – but then again, we are in a unique situation."

"We are. I know what you did, Jareth," Sarah confessed. "The necklace – you were supposed to use it for making another king, but you spent it on me instead."

"Cederick told you?" Jareth's hands toyed with the magic sparks, slowly caressing her hands, the inside of her wrists and then lifting a hand to trace places where she knew the fairy dust markings was on her face. A shiver went through her, as they started burning.

"Interesting," he commented warily, "You can actually see this magic. Go ahead and try."

She lifted her own hand and hesitatingly touched the markings near his eyes, and they immediately lit up and became twice as brilliant and sparkly.

"Oh, lovely," she murmured and fascinated leaned closer to get a better look, and whether Jareth misunderstood her intentions or simply didn't care, she suddenly felt both his hands on her head, touching her markings and then he bent his head so they were touching brow to brow in the most intimate of gestures. A strong rush of magic flew through her and she felt like she was on fire all over – but a pleasant warming tingling fire. Jareth gasped as well, and then, less than two minutes after he had promised her not to force his attentions on her again, he moved his head slightly and determinedly caught her lips with his, still making sure to keep their markings against each other. When his mouth coached hers open and she felt his tongue flicker and meet hers, the fire exploded around them.


	20. Labyrinth Magic

_Hi again. Here comes next chapter - next update will be Friday, as I'm going to Disneyland Paris tomorrow with the family for a few days. :-) _

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Sarah forgot to breathe or move or think, as the magic coursed through her. With his warm firm lips against hers, she was overwhelmed by the combined feeling of his hands, his kiss and all the sensations it awakened – this time it felt completely right. Actually, with the magic sparks around them, it felt a bit like the transformation had done two weeks ago, only stronger, and as her eyes blinked open for a moment, she could see the blue and pink and green sparks filling the air around them. Her hair fluttered in the electric storm, she held on to Jareth as if she was afraid to fall down, and she felt his arms move down and embrace her tightly in response. It lasted five, ten, fifteen seconds, and then… something passed and the sparks rescinded to a warm tingling feeling instead. Jareth must have felt it, too, because he immediately lifted his head and loosened his grip around her.

"What was _that_!? " she gasped, but he looked as shocked as her and just shook his head in bewilderment. Then he drew back and narrowed his eyes in concentration for a moment.

"Your markings changed," he murmured and traced them with his fingertips. His touched no longer burned like before, but just tingled slightly.

"Let me see." She rose unsteadily and went the few steps inside to the large mirror in his room. She brushed back her hair and looked carefully, and true enough, the fairy dust markings looked slightly different. Not much, just a little more pronounced and colourful than before. Jareth came to stand beside her – his markings looked the same as before.

"Do you feel different?" he asked with a trace of concern in his voice. "Is your magic the same as before?"

Sarah closed her eyes and made a quick transformation to owl and then back to herself, but it seemed as easy as she was used to. Jareth followed suit and went through three transformations himself in just as many seconds – but as effortlessly as before.

"Hmmm…." Jareth looked up and down at her with an annoyed wrinkle on his brow. "357 years, and then I apparently still have things to learn about the Labyrinth's magic."

Sarah remembered what they had talked about before the magic went crazy and took a deep breath, turning to face him. "Jareth, why did you use the necklace on me? You could have waited for someone who would fit as a king – surely someday one would have come."

"Perhaps," he replied, still looking past her into the mirror. "But besides all the concerns I told you before, Cederick's return has also made me realize that maybe life outside the Labyrinth isn't much better than this. Where would I go? What would I do with myself after all those years as king? The only thing I really lacked was pleasant company."

"So you're not planning to make me King… or Queen?" Sarah asked before she could stop herself, and then realized that had been a nagging unspoken fear, though she hadn't realized it until she spoke the question. Jareth frowned and shook his head in denial.

"Of course not," he scoffed, but then cocked his head. "Well, except that you would be a queen if you married me, but I assume you mean taking you through the ritual and handing over the power to you?"

He rubbed his palms against each other reflectively, and Sarah's gaze was caught by the cross-shaped scars she'd noticed once before, but that were usually covered by the gloves.

"Are they from the ritual?" she asked hesitatingly and he followed her look and clenched his fist, hiding them from her view. "Is that why you always cover your hands with gloves? Because you don't want to see the scars? Or be reminded of the ritual?"

"Yes, but that ritual will never happen again," he said dismissively. "I made my choice and I stand by it."

He turned and went outside again to retrieve his gloves, and she slowly followed him outside, still trying to gather her thoughts and find out what had actually happened. And what was really going on between her and Jareth? She could not deny the obvious attraction to him with the way she responded to his kisses, but how much of it was real, and how much of it was just emotions provoked by Labyrinth magic or all the things that had happened in the past few days?

"Jareth," she started haltingly and went to the railing of the balcony to look out over the Labyrinth. She stopped thinking about what he would think of her and felt the words tumble out of her. "I don't know what to think anymore or what to do. I'm very confused – and scared."

"Of me?" he asked behind her, and she shook her head.

"Of course not," she replied instinctively, but then hesitated. "Well, not directly, but this situation… it changes everything. The conflict with Cederick, your decision, us… kissing, and then this…this magic thing. I feel… overwhelmed."

She felt him coming up behind her and then his hands were on her shoulders, gently drawing her back against his chest in a steadying unthreatening gesture. She sighed and let him, but made no further moves, just breathing in his familiar smell of leather, spices and magic.

"Maybe we should start all over again," Jareth suggested softly. "I regret I tried to force you into anything – I should have known better than to think I could bend you… you of all people… to my will. Don't worry about me or us, we have plenty of time to sort it out. And don't worry about Cederick – I will make sure he never bothers you again!"

The last words were spoken with a dangerous growl in his voice, and Sarah smiled grimly for a moment.

"How long has he been here?" she wondered aloud. "And why does he hate you so? I've never seen such anger and hatred before."

Jareth hesitated a moment before he replied. "Actually, he came when you left the first time. I don't remember if I told you, but on the rare occasions where a Quester wins, the Labyrinth is shaken to its core and doesn't respond properly to my magic for months after. There is a reason I can't just let anyone win, even if they regret their wish immediately. He must have been lurking outside for years or had spies watching the Labyrinth, just waiting for an opportunity to cross the borders – he showed up at the Castle just two days after, while I was busy dealing with Hoggle and your situation."

"He came to you? Why?"

"He wanted his throne back!" Jareth gave a short bitter laugh. "I hadn't seen him in all those years, and then he just comes strolling in and expects me to handover the crown and be grateful for it. Can you believe it? '_I had it first'_ he had the audacity to say. Even if I had been looking for a way out, I have learned so many ugly things about Cederick that he would be the last person I could ever be persuaded to hand over the power to."

"So you refused and he got upset?"

"If he had been able to take the power by force, he would have fought me." Jareth's hands on her shoulders twitched a bit. "But since he could not and had no hold over me, he decided to just share it with me against my wishes. Before I managed to regain control of the Labyrinth, he had already found a hide-out in the deepest end of it and though I have more magic than him, there are still remnants of the Labyrinth's power in him, so he has been able to bar me from that area ever since. That's why I've had to send other people – like the furry knight – to spy on him."

Sarah considered his words for a moment. "He talked about using me for that purpose – to get a hold over you and force you to give up the Labyrinth. Why can't he take it by force?"

"The Labyrinth does not accept a king that doesn't wield the power of the King's Pendant," Jareth said and stroked the half-moon pendant hanging from a cord around his neck. "And the power can only be transferred willingly during a formal ancient ritual – not by stealing it or killing the current king."

Sarah nodded, but then frowned as she realised something. "You mean… it is MY fault that he is even here? He was able to come because I won over you and the Labyrinth?"

"No, it's not your fault," Jareth quickly objected. "If it hadn't been you, he would just have waited for the next winner. Though they are far between, a few questers do manage to win every century. Who knows how long he's been waiting – it could have been decades."

Sarah sighed. "He needs to go. Permanently. I can still see his evil eyes before me and feel his disgusting hands on me – I don't think I'll ever feel safe until he is gone."

"I agree," Jareth said and she felt him tightened his grip on her. "I'll think of a plan – but until then, I'd like you to stay close to me, so he doesn't try again. Don't leave the castle for any reason."

Sarah nodded in agreement, but then broke away from him gently and turned around to meet his gaze.

"I want to help, Jareth," she said firmly. "I don't want to be some weak damsel in distress or just used as a pawn – I want to fight him, too!"

Jareth raised an eyebrow, but after a short pause he nodded. "Very well, I'll take that into consideration."

"Thank you." Sarah smiled at him and then took a deep breath. "Now – how do we find out what this magic thing that happened between us was? It must mean something."

"My best guess is that it enhanced or changed your magic." Jareth's voice was neutral, but Sarah thought she detected a spark of curiosity from him as well. "Are you up for some tests?"

"Just tell me what to do," she grinned.


	21. Calm before the Storm

_Back again... are you ready for the last chapters of the story... and yet another cliffhanger? :)_

_ -Kaytori: Yes, the outside of the Labyrinth has great story potential, but Jareth as King can never leave the Labyrinth. Sarah can, though, so I'm considering Outside scenarios for the possible sequel. ;)_

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"Try to focus on locating Hoggle. Imagine him in your mind, his appearance and his voice – and then send your thoughts out towards the Labyrinth and see if you are drawn to any particular direction."

Sarah concentrated again and tried to follow the directions from Jareth one more time, but after a few minutes, she opened her eyes again and shook her head.

"Nope. Nothing. I don't feel a thing."

"Good," he nodded while making a note in his leather-bound book. "Then we can rule out the tracking magic – you don't have that either, at least not yet."

Jareth was casually draped over his throne with the book in his lap, while Sarah was standing next to him in the throne room that was pleasingly empty of any of the goblins. By mutual agreement they were systematically going through each and every magic known to him in order to test the limits of her magic abilitites. He had been right – somehow the burst of energy between them had enhanced her magic, though she still had less than him. One of the few additional skills they had discovered she had, was the power to make crystals. Solid ones that smashed with a satisfying crash, soap bubble crystals that floated on the wind and empty ones that could be filled with visions and dreams of her choice. But none that could teleport or transform others. There seemed to be no specific pattern in which skills were possible and which were not – though Jareth had suggested that some of them might work for her later as the years passed, when she had more experience with magic in general.

They had slowly fallen into a comfortable routine and spent most of their days together, and when they were not testing for new skills or training her known ones, they walked around the palace or sat in the garden and talked for hours. About the Labyrinth, the Castle and what to do about Cederick – but also about themselves. Sarah was curious about Jareth's life in Old Britain before he became King, and he was equally interested in what had really happened in the world above during the centuries where he had been in the Underground. Furthermore, she had more time on her hands than ever before – she only needed to sleep a few hours every night, there was no school and no household chores, so every waking moment was hers to use exactly as she liked.

Sarah had suspected she would end up in the Underground ever since the day she discovered she couldn't eat human food anymore, and now that the drama had passed and she had a reasonable understanding of what was actually going on and how the Labyrinth worked, it felt more like what she had imagined or at least hoped for during those years. The two of them working together – almost becoming friends and in some ways, it was more than she had ever dared to believe possible. For the first time since then, she felt content and almost… happy.

Jareth on the other hand was restless. He still went on his daily flights patrolling the Labyrinth, but when he came home, his mood was often grave or even angry. Cederick was clearly also upset after Sarah's escape and wanted to provoke Jareth by using his love of the Labyrinth and its creatures against him. Almost every day, Jareth heard stories of Labyrinth residents missing or evidence of gruesome incidents. On these days it would take hours before he calmed down, and he would drive himself harder, trying to come up with a plan that could cast Cederick out of the Labyrinth.

Jareth had not touched her at all since that day, and she appreciated the consideration – but then again, she had mixed feelings as well. More and more often she found herself admiring his strength, his lean pale body and his sharp intelligence, and sometimes he met her eyes and kept the gaze long enough to make her blush and turn away. She was curious to know if the electricity between them had only been due to the magic exchange or if it would still be there if they ever were to kiss again. She knew the first step had to be hers now, but she was afraid of upsetting the delicate balance they had finally found.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" A large goblin came running into the throne room and interrupted their training. "The Bird has been seen. We see the Bird!"

Jareth jumped to his feet with a curse and rushed outside the castle gates with Sarah following close by. Her sharp eyes could clearly see the black raven circling above the castle, although it looked very high up and was only a small speck against the cloudy sky. All the goblins had been told to be on the lookout for the raven, and already warning bells were ringing in the streets, the sound almost drowned by the high-pitched wails of frightened goblins running back and forth. Mothers were dragging their children off the pavement and rushing them inside the houses, and a few of the larger goblins were jamming on mismatched pieces of armour.

"If the Raven is there, maybe Cederick is with him." Jareth scanned the skies with piercing eyes and clenched fists, but Sarah couldn't see anything else, and apparently neither could he, for a minute later he turned to her and shook his head.

"I don't know… what is it doing there?" he said with furrowed brows. "It must know it has been seen by now."

As if on cue, the black bird swooped abruptly around and started to head away, and he swore again, frustrated.

"Go inside, Sarah," he said and stepped away from her. "Lock the doors and bar them, it might be a trap, so I need you to be safe. I have a bird to catch!"

He transformed, but instead of the familiar owl, Sarah watched in amazement and awe as the black dragon suddenly appeared beside her, dwarfing her in size. She reached out tentatively to touch the glistening scales, but it snorted and bent down its head to nudge her in the direction of the castle doors.

"Yes, I'll go," she said and took a step back. "Stay safe, Jareth."

As the dragon took flight and the wind from its wings almost knocked her off her feet, she turned and headed back in, carefully locking the door as he had asked and struggling to bolt it.

"Here, I'll help ye, me girl." Hoggle appeared beside her and together they managed to push the thick wooden beam through the metal locks to secure the way in.

"What's all the commotion about?" he asked afterwards and glared at the door with distaste. Sarah hugged herself to calm down and told him what they had seen.

"Well, I hope he catches that evil bird," he huffed and shook his head. "The Labyrinth is not itself anymore."

"I'll go up and check that the balcony in Jareth's room is secure," Sarah said, suddenly remembering where the bird had appeared last time. "Let's meet in my room afterwards – we should have a good view of the Labyrinth from there."

She rushed up the stairs, not waiting for Hoggle with his shorter legs to follow, and easily followed the winding corridors in the direct route to Jareth's room. The castle was eerily silent after all the commotion outside. When she reached the room, she gave a sigh of relief at the sight of the big double doors to the terrace being firmly shut, and but for good order's sake, she also bolted them to make sure no one would enter that way.

Looking at the sky beyond the balcony, there was no sign of Jareth either in the overcast sky. He and the raven must have flown in the opposite direction, for otherwise the dragon would surely have been visible, even at this distance. She smiled at the thought of the dragon – that was a really cool shape. Someday, maybe she could do a dragon as well. It would be red, she decided, a bright metallic red with golden highlights like Tolkien had described _Smaug_ in The Hobbit. Jareth had given her a notebook and encouraged her to write down the various shapes she wanted to try, and she had already pages filled with drawings and sketches of animals, fairytale creatures and various normal human forms. Good thing they had centuries ahead of them – she was going to need them to master all those forms.

As Sarah was about to leave the room, she noticed the tall mirror again – the one that was supposed to be magic – and she paused in thought. Maybe she had become magical enough to use it this time? Jareth did not know that she knew about the mirror or had attempted to use it, so it hadn't come up in the past few days during all the testing. She went to stand in front of it and took a deep breath, focusing her thoughts and concentrating hard.

"Mirror, I wish to see Jareth," she said, and then gasped as the mirror flickered slightly and she glimpsed a blurry winged shape in it. As she lost focus, the mirror became blank again, but the knowledge that she _could_ make it work this time encouraged her to try again.

This time, the picture was clearer, and she could make out the dragon shape closing in on a raven, which was frantically flapping its wings and looking back every other moment. She smiled grimly, remembering her own flight not long ago from the very same raven, and watched in silence for a moment, until the dragon at last swooped down and caught the raven neatly with its claws and slowly descended to the ground. She nodded in relief, but then broke the connection, not wanting to see in details what Jareth was going to do with the raven. If he was going to question it, she wouldn't be able to hear what they said anyway, and if he was going to do something more… gruesome, she wasn't bloodthirsty enough to want to see it up close anyway.

She left Jareth's room and walked down the stairs towards her own. Hoggle had not arrived yet when she reached it, despite the extra time she had spent with the mirror, and she suspected he had made a bypass to the kitchen to make tea. That was his standard solution to any distressing situation, and even when she didn't really need it, she drank it with him anyway to keep him company. The long hours she was spending training with Jareth annoyed the dwarf greatly, and she tried to find time for him every day as well.

Everything in her room looked normal, but there was a funny smell in the air and Sarah hesitated just inside and let her gaze sweep around for anything unusual. She couldn't see anything, but it smelled… wrong. Suddenly, strong hands grabbed her from behind and before she had time to react, a large gleaming knife was held at her throat, while another arm held her firmly against a bony chest.

"Hello, pet," Cederick hissed in her ear.


	22. Confrontation

_Hi all, here is a Sunday update... and just when you thought the cliffhangers couldn't get worse... they did... :-) Warning - violence and death in this chapter._

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"Jareth will kill you, if you harm me!" Sarah gasped and tried to break free, but Cederick just tightened his grip and she felt the knife blade sting slightly, breaking skin just beneath her jaw. A drop of something warm trickled slowly down her neck.

"Oh, oops, already did," the old king snickered cruelly. "Stay still or it will be even worse. I'm not after you this time – never was. But your knight in shining armour should be here soon."

"He'll kill you," Sarah repeated, but kept stiff in his arms, while she tried to frantically figure out how to get away.

"Why do you even want to be king again?" she asked after a moment of silence. "You gave it up; you've had your chance already."

Cederick scoffed. "And look what that weak boy turned it into – the Labyrinth is a mess. Goblins and Guardians that don't know their place. Questers that often survive. I should never have chosen him!"

"He is a great king!" Sarah snapped. "And you are a tyrant!"

He laughed and forced her a bit further into the room. "Why, pet, coming from you that's almost a compliment."

"Jareth caught your bird, you know," she offered, but he just shrugged.

"The boy is too weak to think of killing it. I knew it would be caught, but it has served its purpose and got me into the castle - let's see when Jareth makes it back. It shouldn't be long now."

As if on cue, a large shadow appeared behind the stained glass windows and completely blocked out the light. Then the window shattered with a loud crash into a thousand pieces, raining down on the floor everywhere and Sarah glimpsed the outline of the dragon before it turned into an owl and then finally to Jareth in mid-air. He landed in front of them and loomed tall and powerful over them, clad in his spiked and armoured black Goblin King outfit. Beneath the blue-tinged hair, his face was dangerously and frighteningly calm and he crossed his arms in front of him and stared at Cederick with a haughty and contemptuous look.

"Well, well, well…" he said and sniffed derisively. "Why, old man, have you now resorted to stealing MY property?"

Cederick took a step back and dragged Sarah with him, the knife still firmly under her chin. She tried to catch Jareth's eyes and ask for reassurance and guidance, but he ignored her completely.

"Stealing is such an ugly word, boy," Cederick shook his head. "Let's call it… a friendly exchange. You get this little wench and I get the King's Pendant back."

Jareth threw back his head and laughed mockingly. "A kingdom for a girl? All those years outside the Labyrinth must have addled your brain! Give it up, Ced, and let her go, before I get really angry. You're trespassing in MY castle."

"The castle and the Labyrinth that you're ruining," Cederick spat with thinly veiled anger. "I spent decades teaching the goblins to be obedient and respectful, and from what I have seen these past three years, I will have to start all over again! I had hoped that you were finally contemplating stepping down, but then I discovered you had wasted your only chance of making an heir – just to get a permanent piece of fluff into your bed! I knew I had to deal with you and make you see reason."

"Well, then," Jareth shrugged and looked bored. "Ok, make me see reason. Why is that such a bad thing? Maybe you're just jealous you didn't think of it yourself, eh, old man?"

Cederick growled and tightened his grip on Sarah, and the knife cut a little deeper, drawing another trickle of blood down her neck and making her wince in pain. Jareth's eyes narrowed and he straightened to look even taller and more threatening, and Sarah could sense he was furious beneath the calm façade.

"Why would I want that, you fool?" the old king sneered, apparently oblivious to Jareth's increasing anger. "I could have any girl I wanted in any way I wanted, when I as king. "_Ohhh… Goblin King... please let my baby go… I'll do anything!"._ The last part was pitched in a high tone impersonating a woman's voice. "And they _did_ do anything when I let them believe they would get their kids back."

"You're despicable," Jareth stated coldly, but Cederick just laughed.

"And you're running out of time. Unless you give me the King's Pendant right now, I'm leaving here with this little pet. I think she means more to you than I first realized, and maybe she will do… _anything_… as well just to stay alive, until you come to your senses and let me be king again." With the knife still firmly in position, Cederick let his other hand move up along Sarah's body and squeezed one of her breasts hard, and she struggled in his arms and tried to stamp on his foot.

"I will not, I'd rather die!" she hissed, but the old king just gripped her harder.

"That is also an option, of course," he agreed maliciously, "though it would be such a waste..."

Sarah could see that Jareth's patience was almost at an end, but also a haunted and pained look in his eyes that belied his control of the situation. She still hadn't come up with an idea for how to get free, and she was convinced that if Jareth had felt sure he could attack without her being harmed, he would have done so minutes ago. While everything inside her screamed at the thought of going with Cederick, she could not allow Jareth to give up the throne to the old man – it would be a terrible future for the Labyrinth.

Jareth slowly moved a hand to his neck and the cord that held the Pendant, but before Sarah could tell him to stop, Cederick suddenly screamed and loosened his grip on her, spinning around and lashing out with the knife at something behind them. She wrenched away from him and jumped to the side, just in time to see him bury the knife in Hoggle's shoulder instead. In a split second she saw the old king's neck and ears start to redden and blister – the back of his clothes had dark wet stains on them, and then the dwarf collapsed instantly, a familiar cast iron teapot – now empty - falling from his hands and hitting the stone floor with a loud ringing sound.

Sarah cried out in grief, but before she could move or act, a massive white lion suddenly landed on top of Cederick and knocked him over with huge clawed paws, drawing blood all the way down his body. Cederick screamed again, but then he was suddenly gone, and in his stead stood an enormous brown bear that towered over the lion and roared, so the floor trembled under her feet. The fur on its breast was tarnished with blood. The lion leaped at the bear's throat without hesitation, and the two rolled around on the floor locked in a deadly struggle.

Sarah rushed to Hoggle's side and knelt beside him, horrified at the growing blood stain on his vest and shirt, but he was still breathing – a rattled, laboured breath.

"Hang on, Hoggle," she begged in a whisper. "It'll be ok, Jareth will make it ok. You really helped." A faint smile traced the dwarf's lips, but his eyes remained closed. When the bear and the lion suddenly rolled inches by them in a deadly struggle, Sarah grabbed Hoggle's arm and dragged him into a corner near the bed, where they could be out of the way, and grasping at the pillows on the bed, she found and pulled down a thin one, pressing it against his wound to stop the blood flow, while she used another one to support his head and make him more comfortable.

As she watched the fighting, it was unclear who was winning, but suddenly the bear was gone and the lion tumbled back, off balanced. A grey horned owl with feathers in disarray dove towards the window, obviously trying to escape, but the lion jumped up at the last moment and knocked it to the floor with an outstretched paw, and the owl landed in disarray in a crumbled heap on the floor. It shuddered and then went still, and the lion turned back into Jareth. He cautiously went to the owl and poked at it with his foot, but it didn't respond and he signed deeply and then turned to Sarah. His clothes were immaculate again, but as she watched, the blood seeped through the cloth both at his shoulders and thighs, and he swayed slightly on his feet. She jumped up and ran to him to support him, but just as she reached him, he gasped and yanked her to the side, and she felt something whisk past her leg. Jareth hissed in pain and feel to his knees, drawing her down with him.

A small brown snake half slithered, half fell off Jareth's leg, where two deep bite marks showed where it had bit him, and Sarah watched in horror as it turned back into Cederick. His body was twisted and broken and one of the eyes completely closed, but he cackled madly and tried to focus the remaining eye on them.

"You… lose, boy," he rasped and tried to raise a hand, but Jareth reached out with his free hand and found a large glass sliver on the floor from the broken window, curling his fingers around it with a menacing scowl on his face. With a grunt, he brought it down on Cederick, and Sarah quickly averted her eyes, while she felt Jareth finish it and then lean heavily on her afterwards.

"Are you hurt?" he whispered in a halting voice, and she shook her head.

"I'm fine… but Hoggle…!" She pushed herself up and ran back to the corner to check on him, and Jareth followed slowly after her.

Hoggle was still and breathing heavily, and his face was ashen. Sarah gently touched his forehead and then looked up at Jareth in fear, as he kneeled down beside her.

"Can you heal him?" she asked, but then paused and raised her hand to Jareth's forehead as well. He didn't look very well himself, he was bleeding from several minor cuts and his movements seemed sluggish and heavy. "Jareth, you're hurt."

"He saved you from that beast." Jareth pushed her gently aside and took off his gloves, before he placed his hands over the bleeding wound on Hoggle's shoulder and closed his eyes in concentration. The wound slowly started to close, but as Hoggle's breathing became easier, Jareth's hands started shaking more and more, until he had to rest them on the dwarf's chest and then he sat down awkwardly, before finally almost falling down on the floor.

"Jareth!" Sarah threw herself down beside him and supported his head, placing it gently in her lap. "What is it – what can I do to help you?"

"Think snake was poisonous…" he said in halting voice and looked her in the eyes. The pupils in his mismatched eyes were unnaturally large. "The other wounds are just superficial, but the bite… I can't feel my leg anymore and it's spreading."

Sarah shook her head in panicked denial. "No – can't you just heal yourself? You can, right?"

He smiled sadly with a little shake of his head and had gone very still beneath her. "At least you are safe," he whispered and raised a shaking hand to caress her chin and temple. "Sarah… I only ever loved you. From the moment I saw you."

"No, Jareth, don't talk like that!" Sarah could clearly hear that he was saying goodbye and she felt tears starting to run down her cheeks, as she gently kissed his forehead, thinking furiously about how she could stop this. "Don't leave me!"

"Don't know if this… will work," Jareth whispered and let his hand fall down to his neck, reaching for the cord that held the King's Pendant. He dragged it over his head, and though she wanted to resist, his eyes begged her to comply as he pushed it towards her. "For the Labyrinth's sake – take care of my Labyrinth, … beloved."

She could not deny him, but cried openly as she bowed her head, so he could get the cord over it. "Don't leave me, Jareth," she pleaded again through tears, "you promised you wouldn't do this!"

"'_Power of Labyrinth, freely given," _Jareth whispered in a strained chanting voice and clutched the pendant which was now on Sarah's chest. She felt a warm tingle of magic rush through her and saw sparkles surrounding his hands and falling on her. "_Pendant of Kingdom in thy hands… from old to… new, supremacy…_"

He gasped slightly and faltered, but then gritted his teeth and forced out another few words: "_…of goblins, creatures… and lands_."

The pendant flared up in bright light for a moment as his hands fell down and he closed his eyes with a pained expression. The tingling feeling inside her slowly receded. He drew a last shuddering breath, and then went still.

"Jareth! No!"


	23. The New Queen

_Hi all. I have been cruel up until now, but I can be generous... :-) Here's a fast update, since I'm away on business travel for a few days, and I perceive from all your reviews that you can't wait until Friday..._

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Sarah couldn't breathe, couldn't move, just stared at Jareth's limp form in front of her, and then as the realization that he was gone hit her, she raised her head and screamed in misery and despair, shaking him and begging him to wake up, while tears blurred her sight.

A warm hand on her shoulder startled her, but when she saw Hoggle kneeling beside her, obviously much better, she threw himself at him and clung to him to get comfort.

"It can't be happening, Hoggle, it can't!" she cried and sobbed uncontrollably, but instead of comforting her, the dwarf put his hands on her shoulders and shook her slightly, forcing her to focus on him.

"Sarah, stop it," he said gently. "Listen to me."

She looked into his clear blue eyes and tried to stifle the sobs, and he shook her again and then turned her around to look at Jareth's outstretched form.

"In the Labyrinth, nothing is ever as it seems," he said urgently. "Ye're queen now, Sarah. He gave ye his power – the power he just used to save me. Ye are _Queen_!"

Hoggle's words penetrated her grief-stricken mind, and she understood instantly what he was trying to say. A cold determination washed through her and she sat up straight and nodded, forcing back the tears as she pushed herself over to Jareth and examined the wound on his leg. It still trickled blood, mingled with an ugly yellow liquid that must be the snake's venom. With no one to guide her and no time to lose, she gripped the pendant around her neck and whispered a short prayer, and then she placed her hands just above his wound and concentrated deeply, just like she had seen Jareth do first on her own wound and just now on Hoggle's. If Jareth had such healing powers as King, then so must she have.

"Bring out the venom, clean the blood," she whispered to herself and stared hard at the bite marks, "bring out the venom, clean the blood…"

At first nothing happened, but then slowly the yellow liquid started to run faster, soaking his breeches and pooling on the floor. There was a ripping sound behind her, and then Hoggle stepped next to her with his torn sleeve in hand, using it to wipe away the poison before it reached her. She nodded in thanks, but never stopped her chanting, and after a long minute, the yellow liquid was slowly replaced by healthy red blood, until finally there was no trace of poison anymore.

Sarah took a deep breath and refocused. "Close the wound, heal him, make him well. Close the wound, heal him, make him well."

Under her hands, the gaping wounds little by little became smaller and smaller, until the bleeding stopped entirely and only two red marks were left on his skin. She looked up at Jareth's face in hope, but he was still not moving and trembling she reached out for his neck trying to find a pulse. For a moment she didn't feel anything and cold despair filled at the thought of having been too late… but then she found it - very weak and irregular, but it was there. Sarah let out a choked sob in relief and then looked back at Hoggle in worry.

"What else can I do?" she asked urgently. "Do you think it worked?"

The dwarf gave her a brief reassuring nod and examined Jareth again. "Good work, me girl, but he's still weak. I think ye need to take care of the two large wounds as well to give his body a chance to take over – then his own magic should do the rest."

Sarah repeated the healing on the claw marks on his thigh and shoulder, stopping the bleeding and cleaning it at the same time to prevent infection, and then sat back on her heels and burst into tears again, this time in relief and exhaustion. Hoggle patted her awkwardly on her back and murmured a reassurance, but with the danger past, she could not stop crying. After a moment, he went to the door and shouted down the hallway after a goblin, and shortly after, a goblin peeked through the door and slipped into the room and several more followed. They were all quiet and subdued at the sight of Jareth lying unconscious on the floor, and when the first one spotted the pendant around Sarah's neck, it gasped and started whispering furiously with the others. As one, they bowed deeply to her, a sight that should have been almost comical, but failed to stop her tears.

"Your Majesty," the largest one of them said and bowed again. "We are at your service. What can we do for you?"

Well, what could they do, she thought wearily, but then looked at Jareth. He couldn't just lie there on the floor, he needed to rest properly. She gestured hesitantly towards him. "Can you help us carry him to the bed?"

She had hardly finished the sentence, before all the goblins ran to Jareth and very gently lifted him up, so they could deposit him in the middle of her large bed. He didn't wake or make a sound, and Sarah got to her feet to and went to the bed, sitting down beside him and trying to compose herself. In the meantime, Hoggle had gone to the wash room and now he came back with a clean wet towel and gently brought it to her neck, and she started at the flash of pain it sent through her.

"He cut ye, that filthy bastard," Hoggle said with fury in his voice and softly dabbed on her chin and throat, and she saw it come away stained in blood. "Ye can't heal yerself now, so let me just clean it up so it doesn't scar."

When he was done, she wanted nothing more than to just lie down besides Jareth, but Cederick was still there sprawled on the floor and her skin crawled at the thought of being in the same room as him.

"Goblins," she said loudly and pointed at him, "please get rid of… that for me! Throw it in the Bog or burn it or something, just make sure I never have to look at it again! And could you clean up the mess?"

The goblins rushed to do her bidding, and she sighed and finally stretched out on the bed next to Jareth. His skin was cold to the touch and his breathing laboured, but just the fact that he was breathing reassured her and she lifted a hand and softly stroked his forehead and temples.

"I'll go make sure they do it right," Hoggle said gruffly and turned to leave. "Ye stay here and get some rest, ye hear me?"

"Hoggle?" Sarah lifted her head and smiled tiredly at him. "Thank you – you're my best friend, you know."

He flushed and shook his head, muttering under his breath, as he disappeared out the door, and she turned back to Jareth and rested her head on his shoulder. He smelled of blood and magic and sulphur, and she huddled closer to him, needing to feel his heart beating. Something sharp nudged her in the arm, and she remembered the pendant and lifted it up to study it. Close-up, it didn't look like a half-moon, but rather like two giant claws offset against each other and topped by an eternity symbol. The edges were sharp and the metal rather crude and heavy, but when she held it, she could feel the power inside it, almost like a living entity. She sighed and put it on the pillow so it wasn't in the way, but dared not take it off. She had never seen Jareth without it, and she wasn't taking any chances of what would happen if it wasn't worn.

Pulling up the bed sheets up to cover and warm both of them, since there was no window anymore, she slowly closed her eyes and relaxed, and a moment later, she was fast asleep.

* * *

When she drifted into consciousness again, warm strong arms held her and she felt safe and protected. With a satisfied sigh, she opened her eyes against the brilliant morning sunlight in the room, and then gasped in wonder as she realized it was streaming in through a completely whole window, exactly identical to the one that Jareth had broken yesterday. There were no signs of the struggle either – Cederick was gone as well as all the glass shards. Shaking her head in amazement, she quickly turned her attention back to the man who had his arms around her in his sleep – he was still pale, but seemed to be breathing normally, and his clothes were clean and whole. She hoped it wouldn't be long before he woke up, but though she wanted to stay with him, she felt too restless and impatient to just stay in the room, so she carefully extracted herself from his embrace and climbed out of bed.

Outside her room she went directly to the kitchen, and not until she saw Hoggle sitting at the table did she realise that she had actually been looking for him and known exactly where he was. Without the tracker crystal to help her. She wondered what other new magic she would accidentally be using before she could return the powers to Jareth – there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted him to have them back, and better sooner than later.

"Sarah." The dwarf jumped up and went to give her a big hug. She returned it warmly and kissed him on the forehead.

"Thank you again for all your help yesterday," she said with a smile and he reddened and turned away.

"Oh, that's nothing," he said dismissively. "How's that king of yers doing anyway?"

"_My_ king, Hoggle?"

He shook his head and threw up his hands in mock frustration. "Yes, yers. I give up. He would have given his kingdom for yer safety, so maybe he does actually deserve ye."

"But we're not…" she stopped and flushed. Maybe they were. Jareth had actually said he loved her – but what did she feel for him?

She sat down at the table, where Hoggle brought her tea and joined her in comfortable silence, while she tried to think rationally about Jareth. She would miss him if he wasn't here. No – she remembered the agony she'd been through yesterday – she would be devastated if he wasn't here. She needed him – not just for company and to talk to, since she could use Hoggle for that – no, she needed Jareth and wanted him with every fibre of her being. She blushed at the thought. How could she not have realized that before? How could she have been too afraid to recognize that she… loved him? And it had almost been too late, she had almost lost him.

She looked up at Hoggle who was watching her with a grin. "How did you know? I didn't even know? I have to tell him!"

"Tell me what?" a familiar velvety voice said behind her.


	24. Worth dying for

_Hi all, thanks for the reviews - also the ones for my old fic :-) The most often comment I got from that one was that it ended too abruptly, so in this fic, the ending will be nice and slow and fluffy and span the next 4-5 chapters. Hope you'll enjoy it. _

_- DreamBubble: You are really scary, reading my mind like that! :-) I actually have two-thirds of a chapter written in which Jareth lost his memory and didn't know Sarah or Hoggle, but in the end I decided to not do that to them - at least not in this fic ;-)_

* * *

Sarah spun around in her chair to see Jareth standing in the doorway, leaning nonchalantly against the door frame. His white shirt and blue breeches looked as immaculate as ever, but without the Pendant, the open shirt made him look partly undressed and very casual. Her heart almost stopped, but then started beating again, madly, as she took in his lean frame, the wild hair and those confident burning eyes that twinkled at her. Had he always looked this good, she wondered briefly, or had she just only noticed now?

She stood, slowly, and noticed that Hoggle did the same.

"Good to see Ye up and about again, Yer Majesty," he said in friendlier tone than Sarah had ever heard him use towards Jareth before, and Jareth nodded curtly. With a quick smile at Sarah, the dwarf took his leave and then they were alone. Sarah felt like the temperature in the room suddenly rose several degrees.

"Tell me what, Sarah?" he repeated in a softer tone, and she detected a trace of uncertainty in his voice that completely undid her. Never breaking eye-contact, she went to him, and as she got close enough to almost touch him, he straightened and took half a step back. She followed and reached out a hand to softly stroke his temples and chin, and she heard his sharp intake of breath at the caress, but he didn't back away again.

She smiled shyly. "Tell you… that I'm so happy you're alive. So happy you are here…with me."

She let her hand glide around his neck and moved even closer and haltingly, he responded and framed her face with his warm un-gloved hands, sending little shivers down her neck and spine.

"Please…" His voice sounded strained and breathless.

Still with her eyes locked on his, she gathered all her courage and finally whispered the answer she hoped he was looking for. "Jareth… I love you, too."

"That… was worth dying for," he replied just as softly, and then – very slowly - his lips found hers in a feathery-light kiss that made her close her eyes and lean into him, revelling in his warm embrace and caress. Though there were no visible sparks of electricity this time, Sarah could feel them all the same – but they were not forced upon them by the Labyrinth's magic – this was their magic, their heartbeats and souls recognizing each other and coming together. She sighed against him and his kiss became harder and more insistent, sending flames through her entire body, and she followed him willingly, lost in the maelstrom of long-suppressed passion.

Long after he lifted his head, breathing hard and apparently trying to stifle a similar fire, and she smiled reassuringly at him, until she looked around and saw that they were no longer in the kitchen, but standing next to the bed in his tower room.

"But… how did we get here?" She frowned in confusion and he grinned at her.

"Don't look at me – I didn't take us here. I can't anymore, remember?"

Of course he couldn't – she was the one with teleporting abilities now, so she was the one who must have subconsciously whisked them away to… his bedroom of all places. Sarah blushed furiously and wiggled out of his embrace, and he laughed again, before gently taking her hand in his and leading her away from the bed and out on the balcony, saving her from more embarrassment.

The sun was shining from a cloudless sky and it took a moment to adjust her eyes to the warm brilliant light. Jareth drew her to one of the benches and pulled her down beside him, kissing her briefly again.

"What happened, Sarah?" he asked softly, still holding her hands. "How long have I been unconscious? I'm amazed I'm even alive – I was certain Ced's poison would have killed me."

"You did almost die, Jareth," she replied and recounted to him what had happened after he performed the ritual and gave her the Pendant.

"You healed me?" His expression was one of incredulity and then he sighed and shook his head. "That wasn't what I expected or why I gave you the Pendant. You shouldn't even have been able to do that without any experience. Though I am truly gratefully and in your debt, of course."

"But… I was sure that was why you transferred the power. Why else would you have done it?"

He raised an eyebrow and then gestured towards the Labyrinth. "How could I leave you alone here in the Labyrinth without the powers to control it? And what would become of you – and of all my goblins and guardians? I was certain you would take good care of them."

Sarah smiled and toyed with his hands. "I would have, of course. But I'm glad I don't have to. How soon can we reverse the ritual, so you get the Pendant back? I need to learn the right words, of course?"

"So… you don't want to stay Queen?" he asked with a grin, and she shook her head, cuffing him lightly on the shoulder.

"Of course, I don't, I already told you that a long time ago. And you promised I wouldn't have to."

Jareth's smile suddenly faltered a bit and then he drew a deep breath. Getting up from the bench, he proceeded to kneel down beside her, and then he looked her deeply into the eyes. Sarah's heart started beating wildly and she held her breath.

"Sarah Williams," he started in a rough serious voice, "Sarah, you can give back the Pendant and stop being the Goblin Queen, but I would be very blessed and truly happy, if you would… if you would become MY queen instead."

Before she could answer, he gripped her hands tightly and brought them to his lips. "I promise, I'll always take care of you, always protect you and try to make you happy. Please stay with me… I… love you. Marry me, Sarah."

Sarah thought he had never looked more sincere, and to her, never more attractive. She couldn't get a word out, just smiled and nodded, sliding off the bench and into his arms, and then they were kissing again and laughing together.

"I'll never leave you, Jareth," she whispered, when she could speak again and he hugged her tightly, kissing her neck and letting strands of her hair slide through his fingers, caressing her softly.

"Never," he agreed fiercely and then jumped up and dragged her up with him. "Come, precious, let me show you what must be done to transfer back the Kingdom to me. I really miss my magic – there are so many things I want to show you and give you."

"I don't need anything but you," she said automatically, but followed him inside without hesitation. The sooner she could get rid of the Pendant, the better. What if someone wished a child away, while she was still wearing it? She had grown accustomed to the Labyrinth, but really ruling it was not something she wanted to try.

Jareth looked around for a moment and then shook his head with a wry smile. "First thing after I have the magic back, I'm going to get some more furniture for us. Look at this place – a single chair for the desk, a single chair by the fire – so impractical. Nowhere where I can have you a close as I need."

"Except the bed," she joked without thinking, but then blushed as he sent her a heated look and squeezed her hand, drawing her back into a close embrace.

"And we're not going anywhere near the bed," he whispered in her ear, sending little shivers through her, "until you are truly mine in marriage. That would be pure torture."

He let his lips follow the curve of her neck and down to her shoulders, while his hands caressed the small of her back. She closed her eyes and pressed herself closer to him, sneaking her arms around him as the fire returned and made her heart beat wildly.

"I want to kiss you – all of you," he murmured and let his lips follow the cut of her neckline. "I want to see all of you and feel you. I've waited so long for you, precious."

She gasped as his wandering hands found a particularly sensitive spot and arched against him, at the same time both annoyed at and grateful for his insistence that they wait. Her body definitely wanted more – she wanted him much closer, but at the same time it felt like they were moving very fast, and she wasn't quite sure she was ready to go all the way already. And no matter whether he held out because he understood this or if it was because of his own medieval sense of honour, she trusted him completely and knew in her heart that he would let nothing irrefutable happen between them until after the wedding. This brought a mischievous grin to her lips - if he wanted to tease her, she could certainly do the same. Slightly dizzy by the feeling of his warm breath on her throat and neck, she let her own hands slowly explore his lean body and edge their way in under the back of his shirt to feel his silky smooth skin under her fingertips. His muscles tightened as she let one hand wander lower and caress his thighs and backside through the tight breeches, and when she attempted to move it between them to explore even further, he growled and retreated – capturing both her hands in his.

"Sarah, beware," he warned in his dark velvety voice and his eyes were shining. "I have principles, but I'm not a saint!"

"Well, you started it," she retorted and grinned at him. "We were supposed to discuss the ritual, remember?"

He blinked and then relaxed a bit. "Oh yes, the ritual… that's right." Letting go of her, he went to drag the desk chair across the room over to the fireplace, so they could sit closer to each other.

"No more talk of the bed then," he said firmly and gestured towards the chairs. "Come, precious, time for a magic and history lesson."


	25. The Ritual

_Hi again. Here is a little more... with a yummy Jareth in it, hope you enjoy ;-) This chapter reaches the M-rating, I think... :-D_

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The same night, just before midnight, Sarah stood in the dimly lit throne room, nervously rubbing the Pendant around her neck and wordlessly practising the lines she would have to say to complete the ritual. The heavy metal still felt foreign to her and she would be very happy to get rid of it and see it back on Jareth. Around the edges of the room stood a crowd of adult goblins, for once quiet and serious. They were shuffling their feet and whispering to each other now and then, but no one yet touched the small wooden drums in front of them, and when one of them came too close to his, the other goblins hissed at him and drew him back. Sarah had thought it would be a small miracle if they managed to keep quiet long enough, but they were really trying hard.

At the agreed hour, everyone hushed completely, as Jareth swept down the stairs and into the room in full Goblin King costume, his dark petrol sparkling cape flowing behind him. In stark contrast to the black outfit, the moonlight made his uncontrollable hair shine bluish-white, his skin almost translucent, and when he smiled at her, his teeth glittered equally white. She smiled back and took a deep breath, preparing herself.

What they were about to do would not at all be the same ritual that Jareth had gone through when he became King the first time. To his own amazement, he had succeeded in giving her the power with just a small part of the ritual, so after very little discussion that afternoon, they had decided to try an equally limited one tonight. The real ritual would have involved cutting open their palms and mixing blood, hours of chanting and at least one goblin sacrifice done by the old King, and Sarah had felt almost physically sick after seeing the pictures Jareth had drawn in his book to document it.

"How could he do that," she had whispered horrified. "That poor little goblin!"

"It was just the first sign that something was seriously wrong with Cederick," Jareth had answered darkly. "Thinking back, I believe he might even have invented some of the ritual himself, just for his own sick amusement."

The mixing of bodily fluids was a necessary part of the transfer, but Jareth's theory was that that had already happened when they first kissed on the balcony the day after she had escaped Cederick's abduction. Their hands had been bare, their kiss deep and passionate and the magic had swirled around them in abundance, so Sarah was well inclined to believe him. But it hadn't lessened his magic at that point in time, just increased hers slightly and possibly prepared her to accept the Pendant later on.

Jareth walked through the moonlit room towards her and took her hands in his. They felt warm and strong and he looked her deep in the eyes.

"Are you ready?" His voice was soft and earnest, and she nodded.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

He bent down and gave her a brief reassuring kiss, and then she gestured to the goblin crowd. They immediately scrambled forward and took a drum each, and as she gave them another sign and started stamping her feet on the floor in a slow steady rhythm, they followed her and the drums filled the room with an eerie low-pitched pulse.

When she was certain they could keep it up on their own, she nodded approvingly at them, and then turned to Jareth and raised her hands towards him, palms up. With a deeply serious expression, he swept his cape off and placed it on the ground. The jacket followed, then the vest and finally his black shirt, until he stood before her wearing only his breeches and boots. She let her eyes glide approvingly over his well-toned muscular chest and shoulders, pale and smooth as marble in the moonlight, and the drums around them increased a bit in speed matching her heartbeat and clearly showing the link between her and the Labyrinth's creatures. She willed herself to remain calm and composed and placed her hands on his shoulders, pressing down lightly, and he obeyed instantly and kneeled on the ground in front of her, head bowed.

"Jareth," she began her rehearsed speech in a clear formal tone. "I am the Goblin Queen. The power that was once yours is now mine, and mine to freely give. Do you wish the power restored?"

"I wish the power restored," he echoed firmly.

"By what grounds should I give it to you?"

"I swear to use the power to protect the Labyrinth and all its creatures. I swear not to use it solely for my own benefit, but also for that of others." Jareth had not shared with her before what he was going to say, but she was sure that the wording was quite different from the vow Cederick had made him take hundreds of years ago. "I swear to ward off evil and protect the innocent, here and above, for as long as I am King."

She clutched the Pendant steadfastly in one hand and slowly drew its cord over her head with the other hand, continuing the movement, so the Pendant was passed on to him. In the exact moment that the cord was free of her, all the goblins froze and the room became eerily silent, as if the entire Labyrinth held its breath… waiting… wanting. She could only hear her own heartbeat still - and Jareth's. As soon as the cord was over his head, she clutched the Pendant with both hands and Jareth reached up and placed his palms around them, enclosing them protectively.

"_Power of Labyrinth, freely given,"_ she started, well aware that this was the critical part. The pendant immediately responded and became warm and tingling beneath her fingers. "_Pendant of Kingdom in thy hands…"_

Sparks started flying from the pendant, and though Sarah kept the serious face, she was jubilant inside. It worked – it really worked! Her voice became clearer and stronger.

"_From old to new, supremacy - of goblins, creatures and lands!"_

The pendant flashed brightly as it had done before, and immediately, the goblins in the room came to life again and started murmuring and smiling. Jareth rose slowly and flexed his arms and neck, and then he tossed his head abruptly and was – to Sarah's regret – again fully dressed in the Goblin King outfit.

"Your Majesty!" a goblin cried happily and other goblins followed and came running across the room to hug his legs. "Majesty is Majesty again!"

Jareth grinned as he made a crystal ball and sent it to the ceiling, instantly lighting the candles in the wooden chandeliers and flooding the room in golden light, and then he sent another at the goblins, transforming their drums into all kind of funny musical instruments.

"I am indeed!" he shouted at them, and they cheered wildly and started playing a happy fast-paced melody, dancing and clapping in joy. Jareth turned to Sarah. "And you, my dear. Dance with me!"

He grabbed her hands and drew her close, kissing her passionately, as he started moving to the rhythm, and then he was spinning her around in a wild dance. Sarah laughed in relief and joy and let him lead her, now and then tripping over her feet when he tried to make a really complex dance step, but it didn't matter – she was just happy it was all over.

"Is it true?" she asked breathlessly. "Do you have all your powers back?"

"Well, let's test it, shall we?" he smirked and suddenly all the goblins and noise and music were gone, and they were standing in his bedroom in the exact same spot that Sarah had transported them to earlier that day. "It certainly looks that way, doesn't it?"

She stepped even closer to him and slipped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his and drawing his head down to kiss him wildly, and he groaned and kissed her back, almost desperately. His hands explored her body, following her curves downwards and slowly caressing her hips and thighs and her skin tingled and burned where he touched. She buried her hands in his hair, enjoying the silky feel of it and the way her touch made his heartbeat faster.

Suddenly he lifted her up and deposited her on the bed, and then stretched out on top of her after swiftly removing his vest and jacket, pinning her down and still moving his hands over her body.

"I know I said the bed would be torture until we were married," he whispered hoarsely in her ear, "but I'm in the mood for a bit of torture. How about you?"

Sarah nodded breathlessly, not quite sure what he had in mind, but she found out quickly enough, as he started opening the buttons on the back of her dress and in moments were able to pull it down over her shoulders together with her white shirt. He let his lips grace hers in feather-light kisses, while his hands inched the dress lower and lower, stroking her bare skin and sending shivers through her, and when he finally cupped her exposed breasts and let his fingers gently pinch her nipples, she gasped and buckled under him in surprise at the jolt of pleasure shooting through her. She tried to sneak her hands under his shirt as well, but he pushed them away and gave her a mock reproachful stare and a little shake of his head.

"No, my dear," he murmured and moved first one and then the other of her hands up above her head and gave them a little push as if to make them stay there. "I don't think I explained myself well enough. It is plenty of torture for me, just to be allowed to touch you and see you without the possibility to do more. You are so beautiful."

Sarah smiled faintly. "That's not fair," she joked, but as he bent his head again and kissed her passionately, pushing her dress further down, she closed her eyes and stretched her body under him, willingly keeping her hands above her head to play her part in his little game. It felt exciting, but at the same time safe – she trusted him completely.

"What will make you feel married to me, Sarah?" he suddenly whispered while tracing the outline of her jaw with his lips in the most distracting manner, while his hands caressed the exposed skin on her hips.

"Uhhmmm… what?" she said and then gasped, as he hit a sensitive spot on her neck and took advantage of it, licking her skin and biting it gently.

"I cannot get us a vicar or a magistrate," he confessed, "so we can't truly be married according to the laws in the Above. But I want to make a vow and show the entire Underground that you are mine forever. What would we put in that ritual to make sure you felt married to me?"

His fingers kneaded her buttocks in a slow insistent way making her warm and breathless and she had a hard time concentrating on his question. His body pressing against hers was hard and firm, and against her thigh she felt the physical proof of his desire. She tried to gather her thoughts and think of dresses and cakes and flowers, but nothing seemed interesting compared to the feelings he invoked in her and the burning ache inside her that threatened to consume her. When he let one hand follow her hips and glide between them, carefully touching everywhere but the place she needed him to touch the most, she writhered against him and crooned in agony.

"Jareth, please!" She tried to look him in the eyes and when she managed to catch his gaze, the heated look in his mismatched eyes almost undid her. "Please…"

"I will give you anything you like," he continued in a voice that was almost casual, but Sarah thought she heard the strain in it that confirmed he was just as tortured as she. "We can say vows, you can have a big fluffy dress, I can get us rings…"

His mouth moved down her neck and found a nipple to suckle on, while the hand continued to tease her, and she whimpered at the jolts of fire shooting through her, that were amazing, but still not satisfying her.

"Jareth, shut up about the wedding!" she hissed at last and he laughed softly against her skin and finally obliged her, sending her over the edge in moments, while she clung to him desperately and cried out his name.

When she opened her eyes again and was almost able to breathe normally, he was still watching her with a strained but affectionate smile on his face. Slightly embarrassed at being nude, while he still had clothes on, she concentrated and was immediately fully dressed again underneath him, and he sighed and rolled to his back staring at the ceiling instead.

"I can't shut up about the wedding," he said in a whisper. "I cannot rest until you are mine, forever."

"I _am_ yours, Jareth. " Sarah lifted a hand and stroked his cheek. "But ok, let's talk about it. What did you have in mind?"


	26. The Wedding

_Here comes the bride... You'll get the last three chapters in one go - no more cliff-hangers, just fluff and some serious M-rating ;-)_

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Three days later, just before noon, Sarah was pacing her room, restless, nervous and excited. She was all alone – everyone except her and Jareth was down in the throne room waiting for the wedding to start. Hoggle and Sir Didymus would be there, of course, as well as a multitude of Jareth's goblins. Ludo would be sadly missing – he had left the Labyrinth shortly after her first visit and no one had been able to find him in time, not even Jareth, as his powers did not reach outside the Labyrinth.

Sarah was waiting for Jareth to come for her, before they would go down to the ceremony together – he still needed to provide the dress she had asked for. "I want a romantic setting for the ceremony," she had asked of him playfully that day. "A dress to make me feel like a princess. A token of your eternal affection. And then we should write our own vows in secret, before we say them to each other before witnesses."

Setting the wedding day three days after the ritual, she had been busy writing her vows and had hardly seen Jareth who had insisted on organizing everything, but now the time was up, and there was no turning back. It wasn't without a pang of sadness that she looked at the tall windows that made the room faintly resemble a church. No matter how much Jareth wanted her to have the perfect wedding, it would never be the same as the wedding she had dreamed of as a child.

For one, her father should have been here beside her to lead her to the groom – but her father could never come here and she could never go back. She had discussed her family with Jareth in the past few days, and he had admitted that he had deleted their memories of her on the day he brought her to the Underground, just like he always did when he took wished-away children. No one above was missing her, no one remembered her, and no one could ever come to visit. He had been able to show her the house in a crystal ball, and she had seen her father and stepmother doting on Toby and acting like a real loving family together. They seemed happy, and she couldn't begrudge them that or wish it different. Wouldn't it have been worse if they had remembered her and spent months and years wondering what happened to her – always waiting for word of someone finding her alive… or the remains of her? But right now she selfishly wished that her father was here, dressed in a fine suit and looking at her with the kind of love they had shared when she was a little girl – before he met her stepmother.

She had also never imagined that she would be married at 18. Before her visit to the Labyrinth, she had expected to go to college and get a degree, perhaps settling down with a husband and children when she was in her late twenties or early thirties. And after the Labyrinth, she had known that she could probably never marry or have a normal life, so though she had tried to avoid thinking about the future as much as possible, she had rather imagined herself moving away to some deserted place, getting a little house and write novels for a living, her only company a faithful dog. Or something like that.

"Hello, beautiful," a deep voice whispered in her ear, and she jumped a little – lost in thoughts, she hadn't heard Jareth enter. She smiled up at him and leaned back towards him, the feathers on his pristine white collar and cloak were soft against her skin, and only the thinnest of gloves separated his hands from hers. His warm embrace gave her comfort and she felt no regrets – in a few moments, she would be his and nothing else mattered anymore. "Not having second thoughts, are you?"

"Of course not… Your Majesty," she smiled and kissed him briefly on the cheek, before turning around to stand before him. "Now… the dress, please."

With a crooked smile, he conjured a crystal ball and held it up for her to see. In the middle of it, a white dress was just visible, and then he held it over her head and let it burst like a soap bubble. She felt the magic tingling all over her, as her green dress transformed into a white one, bigger fuller and sparkling all over with little diamonds and golden highlights.

"Satisfied?" he asked, and she went to stand before the floor-length mirror, inspecting the dress in details. It was not quite a copy of the one she had worn in the ballroom dream three years earlier, but almost, just slightly more elaborate and mature. Her hair had been swept up in a loose knot with white flowers and golden threads, and tiny diamond teardrops sparkled in her ears and around her neck. Her eyes looked bigger and the magical markings more pronounced, but in a good way – not theatrical. Princess-like, just as she had asked for. On her feet were matching slippers with comfortable low heels.

"Very satisfied," she smiled and turned to him. "How do I look?"

His eyes shined as he took her hands and drew her close. "I could have clad you in goblin rags and you would still be the most beautiful woman in the Underground, Sarah."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, considering I'm probably the _only_ woman in the Underground right now, that doesn't really say much, does it?"

Jareth grinned and kissed her hands, before he started leading her towards the door. "Just wait, my love, before this day and night is over I will have convinced you in a thousand ways how lovely you are and why I love you."

The ceremony and following party went by in a rush and Sarah hardly remembered any of it afterwards, but she supposed most weddings were like that. Jareth had done an amazing job with the throne room – every inch of it was covered in white drapes and crystals and flowers, creating a magical dreamlike scenery. The goblins looked slightly out of place there with their earth-coloured clothes, but the happiness and eagerness they radiated more than made up for it. Everyone had been excited and chatting amongst themselves, with some holding brightly coloured flags, others scarves and more flowers, but the moment she and Jareth had stepped in together, silence had fallen.

The ceremony had been short – just them exchanging vows – but the party afterwards had lasted all afternoon and night. Jareth had altered his throne so it was big enough for the both of them, and it seemed like each and every participant in the wedding wanted to perform for them or bring gifts or just say a few words, so by the time the light from outside waned and Jareth rose to lit the chandeliers, making the crystals sparkle even more, Sarah was completely overwhelmed and glowing from all the nice words and well-wishes she had received. He shooed the goblins away from the middle of the room and lit more candles that framed a large circle, and then went back to her, offering her a hand with a deep bow.

"Come, Sarah. May I have this first dance?" The room was warm, so he had taken off the cape long ago and stood before her with tousled silvery hair and a half-open white shirt that proudly displayed the King's pendant… and the smooth muscular chest it rested on. Sarah's fingers were itching to touch it, but for now, she just accepted his hand and gave him a smile.

"Of course, Jareth. But it isn't really our first, is it?" she said and thought back to the ballroom he had created 3 years ago.

"Our first as King and Queen, then," he conceded and swept her on to the floor as some remarkably talented goblins started playing a soft haunting song in the background. Sarah leaned into him and let him lead her around the floor, and as she met his eyes, she became oblivious to the room around them, seeing and sensing only him. The warmth of his body against hers, his hand on her backside, the strands of his hair brushing across her cheek, as he lowered his head and let his lips grace her forehead. During the slow dance, he drew her even closer and she let her arms glide around his neck, until they were totally entwined and he finally captured her lips with his in a heated promising kiss. She returned it eagerly, and he groaned and almost crushed her against him, before letting go and suddenly lifting a hand, making the entire room go silent in a heartbeat.

"One last thing remains," Jareth proclaimed in his strong Goblin King voice that carried across the room. "My Lady asked four favours of me from this day and three have been given. I now present the fourth."

He conjured a crystal that sparkled for a moment in the candlelight, as he held it high, and then it turned into a shimmering silver necklace with a glittering pendant. In shape it resembled his King's Pendant, but it was much smaller and lighter, and instead of solid crude metal, it was made of woven silver threads with a string of diamonds forming the eternity symbol.

"Sarah," he continued and carefully fastened it around her neck, where it fit perfectly to the dress. "Please accept this as a token of my love and affection and as a symbol that you are tied to me and the Labyrinth forever."

He turned and looked at the crowd. "It is also a symbol that Sarah is now Queen of the Goblins – your Queen. Whatever is her wish, is my wish. Whatever is her command, is my command. I present to you – your Lady Sarah."

The goblins all bowed formally and serenely towards Sarah, but as they straightened, they immediately broke into smiles and cheered loudly, waving their little flags and throwing flowers at her. She grinned and waved back and then turned to Jareth, caressing the delicate necklace with her fingertips.

"It is beautiful, thank you," she said and stepped up to kiss him on the cheek. "I will treasure it always."

He caught her hands and pressed them to his lips. "You're welcome, my Lady." His voice was deep and silky and the intense look in his eyes made her blush. With a little tug, she was back in his arms.

"I think…," he said slowly and let his hands slide down to her waist, sending delicious little shivers through her. "I think it is time we retired."

She felt her cheeks growing even hotter, and then before she could voice her agreement, they were no longer in the warm brightly lit throne room, but instead all alone in complete darkness and silence. He moved a little, and immediately the fireplace and several torches were lit, and she could see the outline of his room around them. More flowers were placed near the bed and on the tables, and the room smelled fresh and clean.

She looked into his eyes and saw her own passion and desire reflected there, and with more confidence than she really felt, she moved a hand up to caress his naked chest like she had wanted to do for a long time. He felt hot and firm beneath her fingertips and she heard him hold his breath for a moment. "Well, my king, my husband," she whispered with nervous anticipation. "I'm all yours now. What are you going to do about that?"


	27. Happily Ever After

_This chapter is pure M-rating with a sexy Jareth just the way we like him :-) If you are not really into this, you won't miss any story by just skipping to the final chapter with the epilogue - be my guest. Oh, and if anyone thinks any part of it exceeds the M-rating, please let me know with details, so I can tone it down. But I think it should be ok..._

* * *

"I am going to show you what it means to be mine," he said hoarsely and as he pressed her against him, she felt his hardness against her, even through all the layers in her dress. The fire inside her spread, and now it was her turn to lose her breath.

With an impatient growl, he lifted her into his arms and as she was carried to the bed, she felt the wedding dress dissolve around her, leaving her in her normal day dress. Jareth started unbuttoning it and tugging it down over her shoulders, and she shifted a little making it as easy for him as possible, until she was naked before him, except for the necklace. She felt slightly embarrassed, as he stood there fully dressed and let his gaze wander all over her and tried to cover herself with the bed sheet, but he shook his head and pulled it away from her.

"No, Sarah, you are too beautiful to hide yourself like that," he murmured and sat down beside her, hesitating a moment. "I don't want to scare you," he finally said with a grimace and stroked her chin. "Are you sure you are ready to do this? We can wait, if you like?"

Sarah closed her eyes for a moment and tried to feel if she was still having any fears or doubts, but she realized that the only thing she could think about was how loved and attractive he had made her feel today and how much she wanted to see him and feel him close to her. How much her body ached and burned for him. Filled with a sudden longing and courage, she opened her eyes again and met his gaze straight on.

"Jareth…" She sat up, leaning close to him. "You will never scare me anymore."

Before he could move, she moved a leg across him and pinned herself against him, so he had no choice but to fall back on the bed with her on top, and as soon as she had him under her, she let her hands slide under his shirt again and lowered her head to let her lips follow the curves of his collarbone. He tasted slightly salty and she smiled as she felt his smooth skin tremble slightly beneath her. As she pulled the shirt aside and off his shoulders, she deliberately moved her hips against his hardness and heard him gasp and jerk under her, and like she had helped him remove her clothing, he now readily shifted so she could remove his shirt completely. She also pushed the heavy pendant aside, so it wouldn't be in her way.

"Remember the torture game you played on me the other day?" she whispered as she admired his naked chest and let her lips and tongue slowly trace the outline of his muscles, leaving a wet trail behind. She reached a nipple and slowly licked it and felt him shudder under her as she savoured the taste and smell of him. "Well, I can be cruel as well…"

She explored him slowly, leisurely, inch by inch and ignored the almost painful urge inside her to be touched as well, because it gave her even more pleasure to see him completely undone beneath her, utterly at her mercy. Without having any experience with men and only reading about this in books, she really didn't know if she was doing it right, but mimicking what he had done to her seemed to work fine. His eyes were closed, his breathing heavy, and now and then he gasped and trembled under her, his fingers twitching as if he was restraining himself from grabbing her. Seeing this, she started tracing his shoulders and arms as well, until she reached his hands, where she peeled off the thin gloves that hid the angry red scars on his palms. She kissed them gently, taking a finger into her mouth and sucking it playfully, and he groaned and tensed, his mismatched eyes burning with desire and locked on hers. She took pity on him and went back to caressing, kissing and licking his upper body, following the lean muscles downwards. When she reached his navel and the edge of his white breeches, that couldn't conceal his obvious desire for her, she let her hands continue instead, following the outline of his hips and thighs down one side and up on the other. She wanted badly to touch and feel his manhood, both to please him, but also because she was insanely curious about that part of him, and yet she wasn't quite sure how to approach it. Would he think her too forward and bold if she just reached inside? She let her hand graze the bulge lightly and felt it twitch under her fingertips, as he groaned, but then she was spared any further thoughts. His strong arms caught her shoulders and pulled her up towards him, and then suddenly she was crushed underneath him and being kissed passionately and desperately.

"Sarah," He lifted his head and framed her face with his warm firm hands. "I want you so very much. You have no idea what you're doing to me, have you?"

She shook her head with a smile, and he closed his eyes and groaned again, clearly fighting to stay in control. He moved her further up on the bed, before he rolled off the mattress to stand beside it, removing first one boot, then the other and finally pulling the tight breeches down so he stood naked before her, except for the dark shiny pendant still resting on his chest. Nothing could have torn away her gaze from his magnificent male body at that moment and she stared openly at him as he came back to her, stretching out beside her with a gleam in his eyes that made her shiver in anticipation. He was just as handsome as she had imagined; his skin smooth and pale and every angle and muscle highlighted by the flickering soft light from the candles beside the bed.

After kissing her heatedly again, he let his hands and mouth explore her further with slow deliberate caresses, while he whispered muffled endearments against her skin. She had never felt more loved and treasured and every nerve in her body tingled, as the glowing fire inside her threatened to consume her entirely. When he let his thumb graze her most intimate place and stroke her with a feather light touch, she shuddered and arched against him, and in response he moved on top of her, gently forcing her legs apart in order to fit between them. She could feel his manhood, hard and rigid between them, and she hugged him close and took a deep breath, bracing herself for the inevitable pain she knew would come, since this was her first time. But still, she wanted him so badly, needed him, ached for him.

"Please, Jareth," she whispered and moved against him, "please make me yours."

He kissed her again, a slow savouring kiss, and then she felt him push against her, first gently, but then more insistently, until he with a hard thrust broke through her resistance, making her cry out in pain and dig her nails into his shoulders.

"So sorry, love," he gasped in a distressed voice and she could feel his body go rigid as he kept perfectly still for a moment. The feeling of him inside her was odd and almost overwhelming, but the stinging feeling quickly abated and the need for him returned. She shifted under him and loosened her grip, and he groaned as his restraint broke and he started to move, first slowly, but then faster and almost desperately. His hands stroked her as well, touching her in all the right places and feeding the fire in her, until it reached every part of her body and pleasure raced through her, making her cry out and cling to him. Moments later, he shuddered and buried himself in her, hugging her tight as he, too, found his release and collapsed on top of her with a groan. His lean body was heavy and warm, but she welcomed the weight on her and entwined her legs with his to keep him there as long as possible and wished they could stay like this forever.

Much later, he raised his head and kissed her gently, before he rolled to the side and cradled her close with a firm grip.

"Mine," he whispered possessively and kissed her neck, and she snuggled closer and sighed contently.

"Only yours," she agreed with a little smile. The room was silent except for their heavy breathing and the soft cracking of the fire in the fire place, and she felt unexpectedly drowsy and heavy-limbed. Her last thoughts before she fell asleep was of him, and how she relished in the fact that he was just as much hers, now and forever.


	28. Epilogue

_Here it is, the final chapter. Hope you have enjoyed my story, and thank you again for all your reviews and 'likes'. If you have the time to write a few lines, I would appreciate any final comments to the story as a whole in order to write even better in my next story :-) The only thing I will not change is the frequent use of cliff-hangers - I just looove cliffies ;-)_

_I do have a sequel in mind with a finished story line and the working title "An Unexpected Heir", but don't stay up to wait for it - I will not publish a single line, before I've written at least 2/3 of it, so I know that I will be able to complete it. And since it'll be another +50K word story, it'll probably be at least a few months before you hear from me again... _

_Bye for now_

_Alyssa_

* * *

_Two years later…_

"What a day!" Jareth, King of the Goblins and very tired husband fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. Sarah removed her cape and sat next to him, admiring the way his fancy new outfit in dark red velvet emphasized his slim hips and broad chest. The shirt had long white sleeves with golden trimming and was wide open in front to emphasize the King's Pendant, and he had made a few bright golden highlights in his white hair to match.

"You did great," Sarah smiled and let a hand rest on his thigh. "You looked very regal!"

He stretched and drew her down next to him. "Do you like that?" he asked in a suggestive voice, and she laughed and gave him a quick kiss.

"Yes… Your Majesty. Very much."

They had just returned from the throne room where Jareth had held his very first official court session.

It had all started a few months after their wedding, where Hoggle had approached them with a suggestion of building a new house in the Goblin City. After the marriage, he had stayed less and less at the castle, and when she pressed him, he had admitted that the main reason for his constant presence before was in order to watch over her and protect her from Jareth, should she need it. But even he could see that the royal couple were very happy together, so instead he had taken up residence in a borrowed house in the city close to the Castle, where she visited him often.

This new house, he had explained, would be bigger than all the others in the village, with large doors and a high ceiling, because it would not only be for him, but used as a gathering place for guardians. He had shyly shown them a big sign he had made; it was brightly painted and in the shape of a teapot clearly proclaiming: "_Hoggle's residence and tea house – all Guardians welcome_". Jareth had had such a fit of laughter that Sarah had thrown him out of the room, but she herself was intrigued and knew exactly what Hoggle was trying to do. It was one of the ideas that they had shared in the beginning in order to break Jareth's isolation and extend the circle of friendly faces around them and have more Guardians in the city.

The house was built and the sign hung in front of it - Sarah had questioned the need for it to begin with, as she didn't really expect many of the guardians to be literate, but it had turned out that a surprisingly large number of them actually were – perhaps an ability they had carried over from their human days. Inside the building, a large kitchen was connected to a sitting room with benches in various sizes, and soon after, no matter when Sarah would stop by, one or more creatures from the Labyrinth would be there, quietly talking with Hoggle or each other, or simply resting and enjoying some of Hoggle's tea or cakes. It wasn't as such an inn or restaurant, as he never charged them anything – it had just become the place for guardians to stop by whenever they were in the area in order to hear news from the kingdom and possible meet Queen Sarah. She actively stopped by several times a week, as she was happy to meet them as well and hear tales from the Labyrinth, and the stream of visitors had slowly grown, as the rumour of the King's bride and Hoggle's hospitality spread across the Labyrinth. Sarah made sure he received adequate supplies to be able to serve everyone, and she and Hoggle were planning to eventually expand the house to include guest rooms and perhaps a small library and scribe room, where the tales could be written down and preserved for the future.

As an unexpected side-effect, some of the visitors dared to venture to the Castle to ask the Goblin King for favours and advice, and since this had never happened before, he had been at a loss for what to do with them. In the beginning, he had seen them individually and whenever they stopped by, but this had disrupted his day and made him tense, so after discussing for days, they had ended up deciding to schedule regular court sessions instead. He had made a few permanent changes to the throne room to make it look more imposing (and tidy), but also more accessible, and Sarah had talked to Hoggle and put up a sign at his place to make sure it was widely known.

Today had been the very first session, and it had actually gone very well, much better than they had feared. Both he and Sarah had been present in the throne room and received the visitors one by one, and the goblins had behaved and not made too much noise.

"You'll be busy tomorrow," Sarah commented and drew out the list she had made. "You have to visit the raft-maze, the old forest, the lakes and the cliff-maze in order to fix all of the things they presented before you today."

Jareth smiled and stroked her hair in a distracting manner. "I like being busy. Will you come with me?"

"Of course," she nodded. "Always."

"Sarah, what would I do without you?" His tone was suddenly serious. "Just look at the changes you've made. They actually talked to me today, shared their concerns with me and trusted me to do something about it. It's not just "Yes, Your Majesty" and "No, Your Majesty" anymore."

"And you're not bored anymore," Sarah added, remembering his frustrations when she came.

He shook his head. "Not only that, but everyone around seems happier."

"I think you have just become not only the King of the Goblins, Jareth, you have become King of the Labyrinth."

"I like that," he mused and took the list out of her hand, throwing it carelessly on the floor and pinned her under him. "Do you know when I became that, then?"

She loved the feeling of his weight on her and made no effort to get away; there was nowhere else she would rather be than right here, encompassed by him and feeling safe, warm and loved.

"I became that," he continued without waiting for her answer, "when I married the Queen of the Labyrinth."

"Then king and queen it is," she smiled and reached up to stroke his eyebrows and temples like she knew he liked. "But I don't really care – as long as you are happy."

"Happy ever after," he joked and leaned down to kiss her. "Let me show you how happy I am."

And as twilight approaching slowly darkened the room, he proceeded to do just that.


End file.
